Notes from Underground (Webster's Thesaurus Edition)

242 Pages·2006·2.04 MB·English

by  Fyodor Dostoyevsky

NOTES FROM
UNDERGROUND

Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation

Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Translated by Constance Garnett

PSAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT is a registered
trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE, AP and
Advanced Placement are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither
sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management
Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT is a
registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this
product. All rights reserved.
Notes from Underground

Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation

Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Translated by Constance Garnett
PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered
trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and
Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither
sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management
Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a
registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses
this product. All rights reserved.
ICON CLASSICS

Published by ICON Group International, Inc.
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www.icongrouponline.com

Notes from Underground: Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT®,
and AP® English Test Preparation

This edition published by ICON Classics in 2005
Printed in the United States of America.

Copyright ©2005 by ICON Group International, Inc.
Edited by Philip M. Parker, Ph.D. (INSEAD); Copyright ©2005, all rights reserved.

All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a
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PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered
trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and
Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither
sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management
Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a
registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses
this product. All rights reserved.

ISBN 0-497-01049-6
iii
Contents

PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR..........................................................................................1

PART I: UNDERGROUND.................................................................................................3

I.................................................................................................................................5

II...............................................................................................................................9

III............................................................................................................................13

IV............................................................................................................................17

V.............................................................................................................................19

VI............................................................................................................................23

VII...........................................................................................................................25

VIII..........................................................................................................................31

IX............................................................................................................................37

X.............................................................................................................................41

XI............................................................................................................................43

PART II: A PROPOS OF THE WET SNOW........................................................................47

I...............................................................................................................................49

II.............................................................................................................................61

III............................................................................................................................67

IV............................................................................................................................77

V.............................................................................................................................89

VI............................................................................................................................95

VII.........................................................................................................................107

VIII........................................................................................................................115

IX..........................................................................................................................125

X...........................................................................................................................133

GLOSSARY...................................................................................................................139

Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1

PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR

Designed for school districts, educators, and students seeking to maximize performance on
standardized tests, Webster’s paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently
assigned readings in English courses. By using a running thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this
edition of Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky was edited for students who are
actively building their vocabularies in anticipation of taking PSAT®, SAT®, AP® (Advanced
Placement®), GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT® or similar examinations.1

Webster’s edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of
synonyms and antonyms for difficult and often ambiguous English words that are encountered in
other works of literature, conversation, or academic examinations. Extremely rare or idiosyncratic
words and expressions are given lower priority in the notes compared to words which are “difficult,
and often encountered” in examinations. Rather than supply a single synonym, many are provided
for a variety of meanings, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of the English language,
and avoid using the notes as a pure crutch. Having the reader decipher a word’s meaning within
context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not
already highlighted on previous pages. If a difficult word is not noted on a page, chances are that it
has been highlighted on a previous page. A more complete thesaurus is supplied at the end of the
book; Synonyms and antonyms are extracted from Webster’s Online Dictionary.

Definitions of remaining terms as well as translations can be found at www.websters-online-
dictionary.org. Please send suggestions to [email protected]

The Editor
Webster’s Online Dictionary
www.websters-online-dictionary.org
1 P S A T ® i s a r e g i s t e r e d t r a d e m a r k o f t h e College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered
trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and
Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither
sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management
Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a
registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses
this product. All rights reserved.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky 3

PART I:

UNDERGROUND

Fyodor Dostoyevsky 5

I

I %am a sick man... I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I believe
my liver is diseased. However, I know nothing at all about my disease, and do
not know for certain what ails me. I don't consult a doctor for it, and never have,
though I have a respect for medicine and doctors. Besides, I am extremely
superstitious, sufficiently so to respect medicine, anyway (I am well-educated
enough not to be superstitious, but I am superstitious). No, I refuse to consult a
doctor from spite. That you probably will not understand. Well, I understand it,
though. Of course, I can't explain who it is precisely that I am mortifying in this
case by my spite: I am perfectly well aware that I cannot "pay out" the doctors by
not consulting them; I know better than anyone that by all this I am only injuring
myself and no one else. But still, if I don't consult a doctor it is from spite. My
liver is bad, well—let it get worse!
I have been going on like that for a long time—twenty years. Now I am forty.
I used to be in the government service, but am no longer. I was a spiteful official.
I was rude and took pleasure in being so. I did not take bribes, you see, so I was
bound to find a recompense in that, at least. (A poor jest, but I will not scratch it
out. I wrote it thinking it would sound very witty; but now that I have seen
myself that I only wanted to show off in a despicable way, I will not scratch it
out on purpose!)

Thesaurus
despicable: (adj) vile, base, don't: (adv) not; (n) taboo, prohibition. indemnification, indemnity; (v)
abominable, mean, abject, miserable, jest: (n) gag, gibe, quip, game; (n, v) compensate, reimburse.
dishonorable, filthy, dirty, hateful, jape; (v) banter, jeer, deride, gird, ANTONYMS: (v) penalize, receive;
ignoble. ANTONYMS: (adj) sneer, clown. (n) penalty.
honorable, creditable, praiseworthy, mortifying: (adj) embarrassing, spiteful: (adj) malicious, malevolent,
worthy, noble, loveable, likable, demeaning, humbling, undignified, sinister, nasty, malignant, venomous,
laudable, endearing, commendable, off, awkward, unpleasant; (v) despiteful, ill-natured, vindictive,
lovable. annoying, aggravating, irritating, cruel, hateful. ANTONYMS: (adj)
diseased: (adj) bad, ailing, sickly, stinging. ANTONYM: (adj) dignified. benevolent, harmless, merciful,
unsound, sick, ill, unhealthy, recompense: (n, v) pay, redress; (n) kindhearted, friendly, pleasant,
pathological, infected, unwholesome, compensation, amends, atonement, loving, benign, generous, gentle,
infirm. ANTONYMS: (adj) well, fit. payment, consideration, flattering.