Shakespearean Vocabulary

noun bustling activity or excitement

• Without further ado, let us begin the presentation.
• After all the ado, we finally decided on a movie to watch.
• I don't know why there's so much ado about this new restaurant opening.
• She made a big ado about finding her lost keys, but they were right in front of her the whole time.

noun a person who runs a brothel or procures women for prostitution

• The bawd was arrested for running a brothel.
• I heard that bawd got caught in a police raid.
• That bawd is always up to no good.
• Her words were like that of a bawd, filled with deceit and manipulation.

noun a bawdy person or thing; a bawdy joke or song

adjective dealing with sexual matters in a comical or indecent way; lewd

• The play was criticized for its bawdy humor.
• The comedian's jokes were a bit too bawdy for my taste.
• I can't believe he said such a bawdy thing in front of his parents!
• The party had a bawdy atmosphere, with loud music and laughter filling the room.

noun a companion or partner, especially a spouse

verb to associate or keep company with

• The queen's consort accompanied her to the royal banquet.
• She brought her consort to the party last night.
• I heard she's dating her consort now.
• In this painting, the moon is depicted as the sun's silent consort.

verb to deceive or trick through dishonesty or manipulation

• The con artist tried to cozen the elderly woman out of her life savings.
• I can't believe he tried to cozen us into buying that junk car.
• Don't trust him, he's always trying to cozen people for his own gain.
• The politician's promises were nothing but a clever attempt to cozen the voters.

noun a person who is not sophisticated or knowledgeable in a particular area; a person who is unrefined or unsophisticated

• The groundlings were seated in the pit at the base of the stage during the Shakespearean play.
• The groundlings were the rowdy bunch at the concert who were dancing and singing along.
• The groundlings at the party were having a blast and didn't care about anything else.
• She felt like a groundling in the presence of the sophisticated art collectors at the gallery.

noun a dishonest or unscrupulous man

• The king was wary of the knave's deceitful ways.
• I heard that knave is up to no good again.
• That knave is such a sneaky little weasel.
• Beware the knave in sheep's clothing.

noun deceitful or dishonest behavior; trickery or fraud

• The investigation uncovered a web of knavery within the company's financial department.
• I can't believe the level of knavery going on behind the scenes.
• That guy is always up to some knavery, I wouldn't trust him.
• His charming smile masked the knavery in his heart.

noun a male given name

• Romeo is a tragic character in William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet.
• Did you hear about Romeo and Juliet's love story?
• Romeo is totally whipped for Juliet.
• He's like a modern-day Romeo, always chasing after love.

adjective describing a woman as ill-tempered or nagging

• Her shrewish behavior towards her employees led to high turnover rates in the company.
• I can't stand her shrewish attitude whenever we hang out.
• She's always so shrewish, it's annoying.
• The stormy weather matched her shrewish mood perfectly.

noun a tumultuous or uproar

• The ship was caught in the midst of a violent tempest, with waves crashing against its hull.
• I heard there's a big tempest coming our way, better batten down the hatches!
• That party last night was a total tempest, everyone was having a blast!
• Her emotions were like a tempest, raging inside her with no sign of calming down.