The Crucible Act III Vocabulary

Contention Argumentative

Affidavit A written statement made under oath

Deposition The testimony of a witness made under oath but not in open court

Imperceptible Barely noticeable

Cain … Abel In the Bible, Cain, the oldest son of Adam and Eve, killed his brother Abel

Deferentially In a manner that bows to another’s wishes; very respectfully

Raphael … Tobias In the Bible, Tobias is guided by the archangel Raphael to save two people who have prayed for their deaths. One of the two is Tobias’s father, Tobit, who has prayed for his death because he has lost his sight. The other is Sara, a woman who is afflicted with a demon and has killed her seven husbands on their wedding day. With Raphael’s assistance, Tobias exorcises the devil from Sara and cures his father of blindness.

Anonymity The condition of being unknown

Prodigious Of great size, power, or extent

Effrontery Shameless boldness

Confounded Confused; dismayed

Ipso Facto Latin: “By that very fact”; “therefore”

Probity Complete honesty; integrity

Augur bit The sharp point of an auger; a tool used for boring holes

Incredulously Skeptically

Blanched Paled; whitened

Gulling Fooling

Anti-Christ In the Bible, the great antagonist of Christ expected to spread universal evil