Lord of the Flies vocab

Question 1

specious

Answer 1

1. adjective
2. superficially plausible, but actually wrong
3. “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)

Question 2

effulgence

Answer 2

1. noun
2. a brilliant radiance; a shining forth
3. “With that word the heat seem to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a bling effulgence.” (14)

Question 3

enmity

Answer 3

1. noun
2. the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something
3. “He trotted through the sand, enduring the sun’s enmity, crossed the platform, and found his scattered clothes.” (14)

Question 4

decorous

Answer 4

1. adjective
2. in keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained
3. “Suddenly Piggy was a bubble with decorous excitement.” (15)

Question 5

indignation

Answer 5

1. noun
2. anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment
3. “Piggy stood and the rose of indignation faded slowly from his cheeks.” (25)

Question 6

hiatus

Answer 6

1. noun
2. a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process
3. “There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers the jerk, and the blade continued to flash at the end of a bony arm.” (31)

Question 7

ebullience

Answer 7

1. noun
2. the quality of being cheerful and full of energy
3. “Then, with the martyred expression of a paren who has to keep up with the senseless ebullience of the children.” (38)

Question 8

recrimination

Answer 8

1. noun
2. an accusation in response to one from someone else
3. “His voice lifted into the whine of virtuous recrimination.” (43)

Question 9

tumult

Answer 9

1. noun
2. a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people
3. “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.” (43)

Question 10

furtive

Answer 10

1. adjective
2. attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble
3. “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)

Question 11

inscrutable

Answer 11

1. adjective
2. impossible to understand or interpret
3. “Jack lifted his head and stared at the inscrutable masses of creeper that lay across the trail.” (49)

Question 12

incredulous

Answer 12

1. adjective
2. unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true
3. “They fell silent again: Simon intent, Ralph incredulous and faintly indignant.” (53)

Question 13

belligerence

Answer 13

1. noun
2. aggressive or warlike behavior
3. “Johnny was well built, with fair hair and a natural belligerence.” (60)

Question 14

chastisement

Answer 14

1. noun
2. a severe criticism or punishment
3. “In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand.” (60)

Question 15

incursion

Answer 15

1. noun
2. an invasion or attack, especially a sudden or brief one
3. “Perhaps food had appeared where at the last incursion there had been none.” (61)

Question 16

disinclination

Answer 16

1. noun
2. a reluctance or lack of enthusiasm
3. “Piggy was an outsider, not only be accent, which did not matter, but by fat, and ass-mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination for manual labor.” (65)

Question 17

derisive

Answer 17

1. adjective
2. expressing contempt or ridicule
3. “The derisive laughter that rose had fear in it and condemnation.” (86)

Question 18

discursive

Answer 18

1. adjective
2. digressing from subject to subject
3. “The assembly shredded away and became a discursive and random scatter.” (92)

Question 19

incantation

Answer 19

1. noun
2. a series of words said as a magic spell or charm
3. “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)

Question 20

interminable

Answer 20

1. adjective
2. endless
3. “An interminable dawn faded the stars out, and at last light, sad and grey, filtered into the shelter.” (99)

Question 21

tremulously

Answer 21

1. adjective
2. feeling shaky or quivering slightly
3. “The twins, holding tremulously to each other, dared the few yards to the next shelter and spread the dreadful news.” (99)

Question 22

leviathan

Answer 22

1. noun
2. a sea monster, identified with the whale and the crocodile
3. “Then the sleeping leviathan breathed out, the waters rose, the weed streamed, and the water boiled over the table rock with a roar.” (105)

Question 23

decorum

Answer 23

1. noun
2. proper or polite behavior
3. “Clothes, worn away, stiff like his own sweat, put on, not for decorum or comfort but out of custom; the skin of the body, scurfy with brine…” (110)

Question 24

apprehension

Answer 24

1. noun
2. suspicion or fear especially of future evil
3. “Ralph was full of fright and apprehension and pride.” (113)

Question 25

sagely

Answer 25

1. adverb 2. in a profoundly wise manner 3. “Everybody agreed, sagely” (118)

Question 26

antagonism

Answer 26

1. noun 2. active hostility or opposition 3. “Ralph sighed, sensing the rising antagonism, understanding that this was how Jack felt as soon as he ceased to lead.” (118)

Question 27

impervious

Answer 27

1. adjective 2. unable to be affected by 3. “So they sat, the rocking, tapping, impervious Roger and Ralph, fuming…” (121)

Question 28

bravado

Answer 28

1. noun 2. a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress 3. “Ralph surprised himself, not so much by the quality of his voice, which was even, but by the bravado of its intention.” (122)

Question 29

comtemptuous

Answer 29

1. adjective 2. manifesting, feeling or expressing deep hatred or disapproval 3. “‘Go up and see,’ said Jack contemptuously, ‘and good riddance.” (124)

Question 30

cynicism

Answer 30

1. noun 2. an inclination to believe that people are motived purely by self- interest 3. “The half-shut eyes were dim with the infinite cynicism of adult life.” (137)

Question 31

indignity

Answer 31

1. noun 2. treatment or circumstances that cause one to feel shame or to lose one's dignity 3. “Grinning amusedly in the strange daylight, ignoring the flies, the spilled guts, even ignoring the indignity of being spiked on a stick.” (137)

Question 32

iridescent

Answer 32

1. adjective 2. showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles 3. “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.” (138)

Question 33

corpulent

Answer 33

1. adjective 2. fat 3. “Then as the blue material of the parachute collapsed the corpulent figure would bow forward, sighing, and the flies settle once more.” (146)

Question 34

parody

Answer 34

1. noun 2. an imitation of the style of a particular artist, writer, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect 3. “The tangle of lines showed him the mechanics of this parody; he examined the white nasal bones, the teeth, the colors of corruption.” (146)

Question 35

succulent

Answer 35

1. adjective 2. tender, juicy, and tasty 3. “The boys with the spit gave Ralph and Piggy each a succulent chunk.” (149)

Question 36

gesticulating

Answer 36

1. verb 2. use gestures, especially dramatic ones, instead of speaking or to emphasize one’s words 3. “He was gesticulating, searching for a formula.” (156)

Question 37

stricken

Answer 37

1. adjective 2. seriously affected by an undesirable condition or unpleasant feeling 3. “Ralph’s voice, low and stricken, stopped Piggy’s gestures.” (156)

Question 38

convulsively

Answer 38

1. adverb 2. to do something in an irregular or jerky way 3. “Memory of the dance that none of them had attended shook all four boys convulsively.” (158)

Question 39

torrid

Answer 39

1. adjective 2. very hot and dry 3. “Sitting on the tremendous rock in the torrid sun, Roger received this news as an illumination.” (159)

Question 40

luminous

Answer 40

1. adjective 2. full of or shedding light in the dark 3. “The twins watched anxiously and Piggy sat expressionless behind the luminous wall of his myopia.” (169)

Question 41

myopia

Answer 41

1. noun 2. nearsightedness 3. “The twins watched anxiously and Piggy sat expressionless behind the luminous wall of his myopia.” (169)

Question 42

propitiatingly

Answer 42

1. adverb 2. in a propitiating manner 3. “Piggy nodded propitiatingly.” (173)

Question 43

truculent

Answer 43

1. adjective 2. eager or quick to argue or fight 3. “Truculently they squared up to each other but kept just out of fighting distance.” (177)

Question 44

inimical

Answer 44

1. adjective 2. tending to obstruct or harm 3. “To carry he must speak louder; and this would rouse those striped and inimical creatures from their feasting by the fire.” (187)

Question 45

ululation

Answer 45

1. verb 2. howl or wail as an expression of strong emotion, typically grief 3. “Eric raised his head and achieved a faint ululation by beating on his open mouth.” (189)

Question 46

crepitation

Answer 46

1. noun 2. a crackling or rattling sound 3. “He heard a curious trickling sound and then a louder crepitation as if someone was unwrapping great sheets of cellophane.” (194)