Lord Of The Flies Flashcards
Lagoon
area of shallow water
“The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon.”
a pond
The young boy swan in the shallow lagoon.
clamber
to climb or shuffle using both hands and feet
“He was clambering heavily among the creepers and broken trunks when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-like cry; and this cry was echoed by another.”
scramble
The children clambered over the rocks.
Vainly
without success
“He took off his glasses and looked vainly for something with which to clean them.”
evil
Volunteers searched the area in the vain hope of finding clues.
quiver
to tremble or shake; a slightly rapid motion
“The palms that still stood made a green roof, covered on the underside with a quivering tangle of reflections from the lagoon.”
to shake
The mountains wind was so cold it had me quivering.
decorous
proper marked by good taste
“Suddenly Piggy was a-bubble with decorous excitement.”
elegant
We were asked to be on our most decorous behavior at the formal event.
interpose
place or insert between two things
“The shell was interesting and pretty and a worthy plaything; but the vivid phantoms of his day-dream still interposed between him and Piggy, who in this context was an irrelevance.”
to insert
He tried to interpose himself between the people who were fighting.
strident
loud and harsh
“The note boomed again: and then at his firmer pressure, the note, fluking up an octave, became a strident blare more penetrating than before.”
powerful
The strident tone in his voice revealed his anger.
scupper
to deliberately sink
speculate
to casually talk or to make predictions without firm evidence
“Their heads clustered above the trunks in the green shade; heads brown, fair, black, chestnut, sandy, mouse-colored; heads muttering, whispering, heads full of eyes that watched Ralph and speculated.”
brainstorm
She could only speculate about her friend’s motives
clamor
a loud and confused noise
“Jack started to protest but the clamor changed from the general wish for a chief to an election by acclaim of Ralph himself.”
shout
The clamor outside their window woke them up.
pallor
an extreme or unnatural paleness
“Now that the pallor of his faint was over, he was a skinny, vivid little boy, with a glance coming up from under a hut of straight hair that hung down, black and coarse.”
whiteness
The boys sickly pallor concerned his mother even though he had no fever.
Indignation
a feeling of righteous anger
“Piggy stood and the rose of indignation faded slowly from his cheeks. He went back to the platform.”
rage
The decision to assemble an emergency meeting has started an indignation of the townspeople.
jumble
untidy collection or pile
“There was a jumble of the usual squareness, with one great block sitting out in the lagoon.”
clutter
Due to the jumbled clothes in the closet I was unable to find my sweater.
grating
sounding unpleasant and annoying
“This one, against which Jack leaned, moved with a grating sound when they pushed.”
grinding
The grating of wood was heard throughout the factory.
warped
bent,distorted,pulled out
“He stood now, warped out of the perpendicular by the fierce light of publicity, and he bored into the coarse grass with one toe.”
dilution
The floorboards were warped due to the earthquake.
conch
a long spiral shell used as a horn
“A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come.”
a shell used as a horn
Shelly used the conch to signal that the police were coming.
scornfully
with contempt or derision
“Like kids!” he said scornfully. “Acting like a crowd of kids!”
angrily
Mother shouted at me scornfully for not doing the dishes before she got home.
officious
intruding in a meddling or offensive manner
“There was pushing and pulling and officious cries.”
busy
My boss was an officious little man that often told people what to do.
tumult
a state of commotion, noise, and confusion
“He paused in the tumult, standing, looking beyond them and down the unfriendly side of the mountain to the great patch where they had found dead wood.”
illusion
We had to shout to be heard over the tumult.
irresistible
not capable of being refused
“At the sight of the flames and the irresistible course of the fire, the boys broke into shrill, excited cheering.”
alluring
The smell of his cologne was irresistible.
nimble
quick and agile
festoon
decorate with strings or flowers
“Smoke was rising here and there among the creepers that festooned the dead or dying trees.”
trim
We festooned the halls with leaves and white lights.
tendril
a stemlike structure of climbing plants that holds onto walls and other objects
“Here was a loop of creeper with a tendril pendant from a node.”
clasp
There was a long trendil leading from the grape vine to the other vine.
oppressive
weighing heavily on the senses or spirit
“The silence of the forest was more oppressive than the heat, and at this hour of the day there was not even the whine of insects.”
harsh
This region suffers from oppressive heat in the summer months.
inscrutable
impossible to understand or interpret
“Jack lifted his head and stared at the inscrutable masses of creeper that lay across the trail.”
mysterious
Due to the girl be deaf and blind it was inscrutable to understand her.
barb
a sharp tip
“But I shall! Next time! I’ve got to get a barb on this spear! We wounded a pig and the spear fell out. If we could only make barbs—”
spike
The barb end of the blade cut my skin.
bewildered
dumbfounded
“Ralph gazed bewildered at his rapt face.”
lost; unable to comprehend
I was bewildered as to what the painting was.
flaunt
the act of displaying something ostentatiously
“A great tree, fallen across one corner, leaned against the trees that still stood and a rapid climber flaunted red and yellow sprays right to the top.”
to show off
Several celebrities flaunted their awards at the Grammys.
furtive
secret and sly or sordid
“There was a slight, furtive boy whom no one knew, who kept to himself with an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy.”
hidden
He cast a furtive glance in our direction.
glimmer
a flash of light
“The candle-buds opened their wide white flowers glimmering under the light that pricked down from the first stars.”
to shine brightly
The Eiffel Tower in Paris glimmers brightly at night.
Blatant
extremely obvious
“The glittering sea rose up, moved apart in planes of blatant impossibility; the coral reef and the few stunted palms that clung to the more elevated parts would float up into the sky, would quiver, be plucked apart, run like raindrops on a wire or be repeated as in an odd succession of mirrors.”
obvious
He showed a blatant disregard for the other drivers safety.
Mirage
an optical Phenomenon
“Sleep enveloped him like the swathing mirages that were wrestling with the brilliance of the lagoon.”
illusion
The heat from the sun started to create a mirage of zombies.
taboo
something that is normally shunned by society
“Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law. Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins.”
restriction
In this company dating a coworker is considered taboo.
sinewy
related to muscular, strong, tendons
“Beside the pool his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them.”
muscular
The lion has a sinewy physical appearance and attitude.
malevolently
implying ill will or wishing harm to someone
“He looked malevolently at Jack.”
evil
The girl was offended by the boys sexist comment and looked at him malevolently.
ludicrous
causing laughter because of absurdity
“But Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains.”
absurd
The idea of unicorns existing was ludicrous.
ineffectual
without a satisfying result, not effectual
“Piggy tiptoed to the triangle, his ineffectual protest made, and joined the others.”
absurd
Another ineffectual plan to lose weight without dieting or exercising.
jeer
to speak or shout to put someone down
“He stopped, facing the strip; and remembering that first enthusiastic exploration as though it were part of a brighter childhood, he smiled jeeringly.”
taunt
His jeer comment on the girls clothing caused the girl to switch schools.
indigo
a color ranging from a deep violet blue to a grayish blue
“The assembly looked with him, considered the vast stretches of water, the high sea beyond, unknown indigo of infinite possibility, heard silently the sough and whisper from the reef.”
a color with a mixture of green and blue
The rubber bands from my bracelet are a deep indigo.
inarticulate
lacking the ability to express one’s thoughts, feelings, or opinions.
“Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness.”
tongue-tied
Several people take classes for being inarticulate.
theorem
an idea, belief, statement, or method generally believed to be true
“Ralph answered in the cautious voice of one who rehearses a theorem.”
theory
His theorem on how he would become famous wasn’t very realistic.
appalled
to be filled with or overcome with horror
“Beside the pool his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them.”
shock
I was appalled by the scary movies I saw last night.
leviathan
anything of immense size and power, such as ocean ships
“Then the sleeping leviathan breathed out, the waters rose, the weed streamed, and the water boiled over the table rock with a roar.”
cosmic
His leviathan figure made him look tough.
clamor
a loud uproar
“Jack started to protest but the clamor changed from the general wish for a chief to an election by acclaim of Ralph himself.”
howl
Due to the clubs clamor she was unable to understand what I was telling her.
mutinously
difficult to control, unenforced
“Mutinously, the boys fell silent or muttering.”
disposed
The school board was unable to mutinously control the protest going on outside.
coverts
underbrush providing cover for game
“If you could shut your ears to the slow suck down of the sea and boil of the return, if you could forget how dun and unvisited were the ferny coverts on either side, then there was a chance that you might put the beast out of mind and dream for a while.”
concealed
He has taken part in a number of covert military operations.
crestfallen
feeling shame or humiliation
“Early evening. After tea-time, at any rate.”
“I don’t remember this cliff,” said Jack, crestfallen, “so this must be the bit of the coast I missed.”
disappointed
She was crestfallen when she found out she didn’t get the job.
glowered
looked with annoyance or anger
“Jack—that time you went the whole way to the Castle Rock.”
Jack glowered.
“Yes?”
“You came along part of this shore—below the mountain, beyond there.”
scowl
The librarian glowered at us when she heard us laughing.
daunting
discouraging; dismaying
“The word was too good, too bitter, too successfully daunting to be repeated.”
tease
Shakespeare’s plays can be daunting for young readers.
impervious
incapable of being affected
“So they sat, the rocking, tapping, impervious Roger and Ralph, fuming; round them the close sky was loaded with stars, save where the mountain punched up a hole of blackness.”
repellent
The material for this coat was supposed to be impervious to rain.
prefect
chief officer; monitor in private school
“He’s not a hunter. He’d never have got us meat. He isn’t a prefect and we don’t know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing.”
authority
Most of the schools I’ve gone to have prefects.
rebuke
reprimand; criticize; reprove
“Piggy gave up the attempt to rebuke Ralph. He polished his glass again and went back to his subject.”
reproach
The mother strongly rebuked the girl for playing with matches.
demure
modest reserved
“Each of them wore the remains of a black cap and ages ago they had stood in two demure rows and their voices had been the song of angels.”
meek
She waas wearing a demure gray suit.
fervor
emotional intensity; passion
“If Jack was astonished by their fervor he did not show it.”
intensity
The novel captures the revolutionary fervor of the period.
demented
mad; insane
“One piglet, with a demented shriek, rushed into the sea trailing Roger’s spear behind it.”
crazy
The old woman was demented so she was moved to an asylum.
appalled
lost its attraction
“Beside the pool his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them.”
boring
The thought of american history appalls me.
corpulent
obese; excessively fat
“Then as the blue material of the parachute collapsed the corpulent figure would bow forward, sighing, and the flies settle once more.”
plump
The boy at Subway looked corpulent.
sauntered
walked at a leisurely pace
“Seeing there was no immediate likelihood of a pause, Jack rose from the log that was his throne and sauntered to the edge of the grass.”
wander
They sauntered slowly down the street.
abominable
detestable; unpleasant
“It was crying out against the abominable noise, something about a body on the hill.”
hateful
Your table manners are abominable.
derision
contemptuous laughter; ridicule
“Piggy once more was the center of social derision so that everyone felt cheerful and normal.”
mockery
One of the students laughed in derision at my error.
