Lord of the Flies Vocab Flashcards
specious (adjective)
superficially plausible, but actually wrong
“Ralph had been deceived before now by the specious appearance of depth in a beach pool and he approached this one preparing to be disappointed”(12).
effulgence (noun)
a brilliant radiance; a shining forth.
“With that word the heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence”(14).
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”(14).
decorous (adjective)
in keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained.
“No. A shell.’ ’ Suddenly Piggy was a-bubble with decorous excitement”(15).
indignation (noun)
anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment
“Indignation took away Ralph’s control” (25).
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” (31).
ebullience (noun)
the quality of being cheerful and full of energy; exuberance
“Then, with the martyred expression of a parent who has to keep up with the senseless ebullience of the children,he picked up the conch, turned toward the forest, and began to pick his way over the tumbled scar” (38).
recrimination (noun)
an accusation in response to one from someone else.
c) “His voice lifted into the whine of virtuous recrimination”. (43)
furtive (adjective)
attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble;
c) “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 trees” (49).
inscrutable (adjective)
impossible to understand or interpret.
c) “Jack lifted his head and stared at the inscrutable masses of creeper that lay across the trail” (49).
incredulous (adjective)
(of a person or their manner) unwilling or unable to believe something
c) “They were silent again: Simon intent, Ralph incredulous and faintly indignant” (53).
belligerence (noun)
aggressive or warlike behavior
c)”Percival was mousecolored and had not been very attractive even to his mother; Johnny was well built, with fair hair and a natural belligerence” (60).
chastisement (noun)
a severe criticism or punishment
c) “In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand” (60).
incursion (noun)
an invasion or attack, especially a sudden or brief one.
c) “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” (61).
disinclination (noun)
a reluctance or lack of enthusiasm
c) “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, and ass-mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination for manual labor” (65).
derisive (adjective)
) expressing contempt or ridicule
c) “The derisive laughter that rose had fear in it and condemnation” (86).
incantation (noun)
a series of words said as a magic spell or charm
c) “Percival Wemys Madison, of the Vicarage, Harcourt St. Anthony, lying in the long grass, was living through circumstances in which the incantation of his address was powerless to help him” (94).
interminable (adjective)
endless (often used hyperbolically)
c) “An interminable dawn faded the stars out, and at last light, sad and grey, filtered into the shelter” (99).
