Lord of the Flies vocab flashcards!

Question 1

specious

Answer 1

adjective, Superficially plausible, but actually wrong

Question 2

effulgence

Answer 2

noun, Brightness taken to the extreme - “With that word the heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence” (14).

Question 3

enmity

Answer 3

noun, The state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something

Question 4

decorous

Answer 4

adjective, In keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained

Question 5

indignation

Answer 5

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

Question 6

hiatus

Answer 6

noun, A pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process

Question 7

ebullience

Answer 7

noun, The quality of being cheerful and full of energy; exuberance

Question 8

tumult

Answer 8

noun, confusion or disorder, a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people

Question 8

recrimination

Answer 8

noun, an accusation in response to one from something else

Question 9

furtive

Answer 9

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 trees” (49).

Question 10

inscrutable

Answer 10

adjective, impossible to understand or interpret

Question 11

incredulous

Answer 11

adjective, unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true

Question 12

belligerence

Answer 12

noun, aggressive or war-like behavior

Question 13

chastisement

Answer 13

noun, severe criticism; a rebuke or strong reprimand

Question 14

incursion

Answer 14

noun, an invasion or attack, especially a sudden or brief one

Question 15

disinclination

Answer 15

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, and ass-mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination for manual labor” (65).

Question 16

derisive

Answer 16

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

Question 17

discursive

Answer 17

adjective, digressing from subject to subject, relating to discourse or modes of discourse

Question 18

incantation

Answer 18

noun, a series of words said as a magic spell or charm

Question 19

interminable

Answer 19

adjective, endless (often used hyperbolically)

Question 20

tremulously

Answer 20

adjective, timidly, nervously, shaking or quivering slightly

Question 21

leviathan

Answer 21

noun, (in biblical use) a sea monster, identified in different passages with the whale and the crocodile

Question 22

decorum

Answer 22

noun, behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety

Question 23

apprehension

Answer 23

noun, anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen

Question 24

sagely

Answer 24

adverb, in a profoundly wise manner

Question 25

antagonism

Answer 25

noun, active hostility or opposition

Question 26

impervious

Answer 26

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” (121).

Question 27

bravado

Answer 27

noun, a bold manner or show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate

Question 28

contemptuous

Answer 28

adjective, manifesting, feeling or expressing deep hatred or disapproval

Question 29

cynicism

Answer 29

noun, an inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest; skepticism

Question 30

indignity

Answer 30

noun, treatment or circumstances that cause one to feel shame or lose dignity

Question 31

iridescent

Answer 31

adjective, showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles

Question 32

corpulent

Answer 32

adjective, (of a person) fat

Question 33

parody

Answer 33

noun, an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect

Question 34

succulent

Answer 34

adjective, (of food) tender, juicy, and tasty

Question 35

gesticulating

Answer 35

verb????, using gestures, especially dramatic ones, instead of speaking or to emphasize one’s words

Question 36

stricken

Answer 36

adjective, seriously affected by an undesirable condition or unpleasant feeling

Question 37

convulsively

Answer 37

adverb, done in an irregular, jerky way

Question 38

torrid

Answer 38

adjective, very hot and dry; full of difficulty or tribulation

Question 39

luminous

Answer 39

adjective, full of or shedding light; bright or shining, especially in the dark

Question 40

myopia

Answer 40

noun, nearsightedness; lack of imagination, foresight, or intellectual insight

Question 41

propitiatingly

Answer 41

adverb, in propitiating or appeasing a god, spirit, or person

Question 42

truculent

Answer 42

adjective, eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant

Question 43

inimical

Answer 43

adjective, tending to obstruct or harm

Question 44

ululation

Answer 44

noun, howl or wail as an expression of strong emotion, typically grief

Question 45

crepitation

Answer 45

noun, a crackling or rattling sound