War and Peace

False friends13 entries

You know these words. In this book they mean something else.

reception×2

evening party

affected

pretended

morally

in one’s soul

this post

this job

secure

get

appreciate

value

mean to

plan to

assumed

showed

meditated

thought it over

a little person

a certain young woman

relation

relative

Presently

shortly after

affair

matter

Idioms25 entries

Fixed expressions with a settled meaning of their own. Worth learning once.

have nothing more to do with you

never speak to you again

But how do you do?

but how are you?

without exception

every single one, none left out

ran as follows

said this

not in the least

not at all

Set your friend’s mind at rest

stop your friend worrying

coming for me

coming to collect me

by force of habit

purely out of habit

Don’t tease!

Stop making fun of me!

Well,

anyway, back to what I was asking

has burnt his boats

has destroyed his own way back: he cannot retreat now

feel like it

want to

don’t speak to me of

do not even talk to me about

will be true to it

will stay faithful to it

in the person of this murderer and villain

in the shape of this killer and criminal

I ask you

tell me honestly

by all accounts is a poor creature

everyone says he is weak and no good at anything

I can’t help it

there is nothing I can do about it

Between ourselves

do not tell anyone else what I am about to say

I am your faithful slave

a very polite phrase of the time: I will do anything you ask

It can’t be helped!

nothing can be done about it

expressed his resignation to cruel fate

showed that he accepted the hard life he had been given

of good family

from a respected, upper-class family

to and fro

back and forth

on your family’s behalf

for your family

Phrasal verbs8 entries

A verb and a small word that together mean something the two words do not.

went up to

walked over to

seated himself

sat down

I must put in an appearance

I must show myself there, at least briefly

burst out

said suddenly and loudly

rely on

trust

they have both turned out fools

they have both grown up stupid

put up with

accept without complaining

lay back

leaned back

Noun phrases2 entries

A group of words naming a person or a thing, explained together.

this very evening

tonight

the thing

the marriage they are arranging

Words from other languages6 entries

la grippe

French: influenza, the flu

the fete

the party

À propos

French: by the way

émigrés

French nobles who fled the country during the Revolution

beaucoup d’estime

French: a lot of respect

Attendez

French: wait

Old word forms2 entries

Old forms of words you know. Learn them once.

In the midst of

In the middle of

lately

not long ago

Words102 entries

In the order you will meet them.

Prince

a title of the Russian high nobility, not a king’s sonrank

estates

large properties of land

frightened

scared

maid of honor×2

a young unmarried woman of a noble family, one of the Empress’s helpers in the ruler’s householdrank

greeted

said hello to

the elite

the highest circle of society

invitations

cards asking guests to come

a scarlet-liveried footman

a servant in the household’s bright red uniforman object or practice the period took for granted

prospect

the thought of what is coming

Heavens

said in surprise

disconcerted

upset

had stars on his breast

wore star-shaped badges of honour on his chestan object or practice the period took for granted

bald

with no hair on top

scented

sweet-smelling

shining

bright

complacently

with quiet self-satisfaction

sofa

long soft seat

altering

changing

politeness

good manners

discerned

noticed

ambassador

the man who speaks for his country abroad

fete

party

confess×2

admit

festivities

celebrations

fireworks

coloured lights shot into the night sky

wearisome

tiring and dull

dispatch

an official report sent home from abroadthe working vocabulary of a trade or field

listless

with no energy

languidly

slowly, without energy

enthusiastic

full of excitement

expectations

what people who knew her wanted from her

subdued

soft, not showing much

spoiled

too used to getting its way

betraying

secretly helping our enemy while pretending to be our friend

Our gracious sovereign

our kind ruler, the Tsarrank

recognizes

knows and accepts

vocation

the great task God has given him

faith

trust

virtuous

morally good

noble

good and fine in spirit

forsake

abandon

fulfill

do what he was meant to do

evacuate

march its soldiers out of

motive×2

reason

mankind

all people

powerless

able to do nothing

paused

stopped for a moment

impetuosity

rush of feeling

eloquent

good with words

genuine

real

profound

deep

thinker

man of ideas

the Dowager Empress

the widow of the dead Emperorrank

first secretary at Vienna

a top job at Russia’s office in Vienna, a city in Austriarank

the Dowager Empress Márya Fëdorovna

the widow of the emperor who died, still called Empressrank

Baron×2

a nobleman of the lowest rankrank

mingled

mixed

indifferent

as if he did not care

rebuke

speak sharply to

daring

not being afraid to

console

comfort

enraptured

delighted

amazingly

very, very

bowed

bent forward in respect

signify

show

gratitude

thanks

nearer

closer

amiably

pleasantly

joys

good things

distributed

given to people

fate

the power that decides what happens to people

splendid

fine

charming

lovely, easy to like

ecstatic

wildly delighted

dissatisfied

not happy

melancholy

sad

pitied

felt sorry for

significantly

with meaning in her look

awaiting

waiting for

frowned

made an unhappy face

animated

lively

wrinkles

lines

unexpectedly

in a way nobody expected

coarse

rough and low, without fine manners

unpleasant

not nice

reproach

blame

pensively

deep in thought

gesture

movement of the hand

marrying

finding a wife for

evidently

clearly

costing me

taking from me

forty thousand rubles a year

forty thousand a year in Russian money, the income of a wealthy estatemoney

stingy

mean with money

nicknamed

given the name

eccentric

odd in his ways

bore

boring to be with

aide-de-camp

a senior officer’s personal assistantrank

drawing it downwards

pulling it down

devoted

loyal

swung

moved

armchair

big soft chair

reflecting

thinking

Words inside the phrases58 entries

These were explained above as part of a longer phrase. Here is what each one means on its own.

abnegation

putting your own wishes aside for others

adored

deeply loved

apprenticeship

the years a person spends learning a trade

avenge

punish someone for a wrong they have done

bane

the thing that ruins a person's life

baron

a man of noble family, of the lowest such rank

beaucoup

French for a lot, a great deal

befitting

right and proper for

courtierlike

like a person who spends life at a royal court

deigned

agreed to do something she thought was beneath her

embroidered

covered with a pattern worked in coloured thread

estime

French for a good opinion of someone

evacuate

leave a place completely and let others have it

eyebrows

the lines of hair above the eyes

faded

grown pale and worn with age

footman

a man servant who waits at the door and at table

gracious

kind and polite to people below you

grippe

the illness that brings fever, aches and a cough

habitual

done so often that it has become a habit

hydra

a monster in old Greek stories whose many heads grew again when cut

illustrious

famous and greatly admired

impulsiveness

acting straight away on a sudden feeling, without thinking

indifference

no interest at all in something

infamies

acts so bad they bring shame on the person who does them

intonation

the rise and fall of the voice in speech

invalid

a person who is ill for a long time and needs care

invincible

impossible to beat

irony

saying the opposite of what you mean, so that people hear the joke

liveried

wearing the special uniform of a rich household

loftiness

being high and fine in spirit

lofty

very high

maid

a young woman who is not married

maids

women who are not married

mania

a wild love of something that a person cannot control

matchmaking

arranging marriages between people

midst

the middle

monarch

a king, queen or emperor

mournful

very sad

neutrality

taking no side when others fight

overflowed

was so full that it ran over the edge

paternity

being a father

patroness

a woman who protects and helps someone

patronizing

treating another person as less clever than yourself

perpetrated

done, said of a crime or a bad act

prodigal

spending money in a wasteful way

propos

part of a French phrase that means by the way

quickness

being fast

rejoinder

a reply

rubles

the money used in Russia

scarlet

bright red

serene

calm and peaceful

sincere

honest and truly meant

slafe

a wrong spelling of the word slave

sovereign

the ruler of a country

stale

old and no longer fresh

tact

the skill of saying the right thing without hurting anyone

villain

a very bad man

virulent

very strong and full of hate