Lord of the Flies Book Test Flashcards
specious
adjective
Superficially plausible, but actually wrong.
“Ralph had been deceived before now by the specious appearance of depth in the beach pool and he approached this one preparing to be disappointed.”
effulgence
adjective
Shining brightly; radiant.
“With that word the heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with blinding effulgence.”
enmity
noun
The state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.
“He trotted through the sand, enduring the sun’s enmity, crossed the platform and found his scattered clothes.”
decorous
adjective
In keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained.
“Suddenly Piggy was a-bubble with decorous excitement.”
indignation
noun
Anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment.
“Piggy stood and the rose of indignation faded slowly from his cheeks.”
hiatus
noun
A pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.
“There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk, and the blade continued to flash at the end of a bony arm.”
ebullience
noun
The quality of being cheerful and full of energy; exuberance.
“Then with the martyred expression of a parent who had to keep up with the senseless ebullience of the children, he picked up the conch, turned towards the forest, and began to pick his way over the tumbled scar.” [Ralph]
recrimination
noun: an accusation in response to one from someone else, “His voice lifted into the whine of virtuous recrimination.” [Piggy]
tumult
noun: a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people,“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.”
furtive
adjective: attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive, “Jack himself shrank at this cry with a hiss of indrawn breath, and for a minute became less a hunter than a furtive thing, ape-like among the tangle of the trees.”
inscrutable
adjective: impossible to understand or interpret, “Jack lifted his head and stared at the inscrutable masses of creeper that lay across the trail.”
incredulous
adjective: unwilling or unable to believe something, “They were silent again; Simon intent, Ralph incredulous and faintly indignant.”
belligerence
noun: aggressive or warlike behaviour, “… Johnny was well built, with fair hair and natural belligerence.”
chastisement
verb: rebuke or reprimand severely, “In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand.”
incurison
noun, an invasion or attack, especially a sudden or brief one, “Perhaps food had appeared where at the last incursion there had been none; bird droppings, insects perhaps, any of the strewn detritus of landward life.”
disinclination
noun, a reluctance or lack of enthusiasm, “There had grown up tacitly among the biguns the opinion that Piggy was an outsider, not only by accent, which did not matter, but by fat, by ass-mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination for manual labour.”
derisive
adjective, expressing contempt or ridicule,“The derisive laughter that rose had fear in it and condemnation.”
discursive
adjective, digressing from subject to subject, “The assembly shredded away and became a discursive and random scatter from the palms to the water and away along the beach, beyond night-sight.”
incantation
noun, a series of words said as a magic spell or charm, “A thin wail out of the darkness chilled them and set them grabbing for each other. Then the wail rose, remote and unearthly, and turned to an inarticulate gibbering.”
interminable
adjective, endless (often used hyperbolically), “An interminable dawn faded the stars out, and at last light, sad and grey, filtered into the shelter.”
tremulously
adjective, shaking or quivering slightly, “The twins, holding tremulously to each other, dared a few yards to the next shelter and spread the dreadful news.”
leviathan
noun, a very large aquatic creature, especially a whale, “Then the sleeping leviathan breathed out, the waters rose, the weed streamed, and the water boiled over the table rock with a roar.”
decorum
noun, behaviour in keeping with good taste and propriety, “Not one of them was a obvious subject for a shower, and yet—hair, much too long, tangled here and there, knotted round a dead leaf or twig; faces cleaned fairly well by the process of eating & sweating but marked in the less accessible angles with a kind of shadow; clothes, worn away, stiff like his own with sweat, put on, not for decorum or comfort but out of custom; the skin of the body, scurfy with brine–”
apprehension
noun, anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen.“Ralph was full of fright and apprehension and pride.”
sagely
adverb, in a profoundly wise manner, “ “So the pig-run must be somewhere in there.” Ralph nodded. He pointed at the forest. Everybody agreed, sagely.”
atagonism
noun, active hostility or opposition, “Ralph sighed, sensing the rising antagonism, understanding that this was how Jack felt as soon as he ceased to lead.”
impervious
adjective, unable to be affected by,, “”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”
bravado
noun, a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate, “Ralph surprised himself, not so much by the quality of his voice, which was even, but by the bravado of its intention.
comtemptuous
adjective, showing contempt; scornful, “Go up and see,” said Jack contemptuously, “and good riddance.””
cynicism
noun, an inclination to question whether something will happen or whether it is worthwhile; pessimism, “The half-shut eyes were dim with the infinite cynicism of adult life.”
indignity
noun, treatment or circumstance that causes one to feel shame or to lose one’s dignity. “He opened his eyes quickly and there was the head grinning amusedly in the strange daylight, ignoring the flies, the spilled guts, even ignoring the indignity of being spiked on a stick.”
iridescent
adjective, showing luminous colours that seem to change when seen from different angles. “They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned.”
corpulent
adjective, (of a person) fat.“Then as the blue material of the parachute collapsed the corpulent figure would bow forward, sighing, and the flies settle once more.”
parody
noun, an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect. “The tangles of lines showed him the mechanics of this parody; he examined the white nasal bones, the teeth, the colour of corruption.”
succulent
(of food) tender, juicy, and tasty. “The boys with the spit gave Ralph and Piggy each a succulent chunk.”
gesticulating
verb, use gestures, especially dramatic ones, instead of speaking or to emphasize one’s words.“He was gesticulating, searching for a formula.”
stricken
adjective, seriously affected by an undesirable condition or unpleasant feeling. “Ralph’s voice, low and stricken, stopped Piggy’s gestures.”
convulsively
adjective, producing or consisting of convulsions “Memory of the dance that none of them had attended shook all four boys convulsively.”
torrid
adjective, very hot and dry, Sitting on the tremendous rock in the torrid sun, Roger received this news as an illumination.”
luminous
adjective, full of or shedding light; bright or shining, especially in the dark. “The twins watched anxiously and Piggy sat expressionless behind the luminous wall of his myopia.”
myopia
noun, nearsightedness, “The twins watched anxiously and Piggy sat expressionless behind the luminous wall of his myopia.”
propitiatingly
noun, the action of propitiating or appeasing a god, spirit, or person. “I hadn’t” said Ralph loudly. “I knew it all the time. I hadn’t forgotten.” Piggy nodded propitiatingly.”
truculent
adjective, eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.“Truculently they squared up to each other but kept just out of fighting distance.”
inimical
adjective, tending to obstruct or harm. “To carry he must speak louder; and this would rouse those striped and inimical creatures from their feasting by the fire.”
ululation
verb, howl or wail as an expression of strong emotion, typically grief. “Eric raised his head and achieved a faint ululation by beating on his open mouth.”
crepitation
noun, a crackling or rattling sound. “He heard a curious trickling sound and then a louder crepitation as if someone were unwrapping great sheets of cellophane.”
