Lord of the Flies Vocab

Question 1

specious

Answer 1

(adj) misleading in appearance, especially misleadingly attractive.
“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

(n) 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).

Question 3

enmity

Answer 3

(n) the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.

Question 4

decorous

Answer 4

(adj) in keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained.

Question 5

indignation

Answer 5

(n) anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment.

Question 6

hiatus

Answer 6

(n) a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.

Question 7

ebullience

Answer 7

(n) 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).

Question 8

recrimination

Answer 8

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

Question 9

tumult

Answer 9

(n) a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people.

Question 10

furtive

Answer 10

(adj) attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive.

Question 11

inscrutable

Answer 11

(adj) impossible to understand or interpret.

Question 12

incredulous

Answer 12

(adj) (of a person or their manner) unwilling or unable to believe something.

Question 13

belligerence

Answer 13

(n) aggressive or warlike behavior.
“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).

Question 14

chastisement

Answer 14

(n) a severe criticism or punishment

Question 15

incursion

Answer 15

(n) 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.” (61).

Question 16

disinclination

Answer 16

(n) a reluctance or lack of enthusiasm.

Question 17

derisive

Answer 17

(adj) expressing contempt or ridicule.

Question 18

discursive

Answer 18

(adj) 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.” (92).

Question 19

incantation

Answer 19

(n) a series of words said as a magic spell or charm.

Question 20

interminable

Answer 20

(adj) endless (often used hyperbolically).

Question 21

tremulously

Answer 21

(adv) characterized by or affected with trembling or tremors

Question 22

leviathan

Answer 22

(n) a very large aquatic creature, especially a whale.

Question 23

decorum

Answer 23

(n) behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety.

Question 24

apprehension

Answer 24

(n) anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen.

Question 25

apprehension

Answer 25

(n) anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen.

Question 26

sagely

Answer 26

(adv) in a profoundly wise manner.

Question 27

antagonism

Answer 27

(n) active hostility or opposition.

Question 28

impervious

Answer 28

(adj) 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 29

bravado

Answer 29

(n) a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate.

Question 30

contemptuous

Answer 30

(adj) showing contempt; scornful.

Question 31

cynicism

Answer 31

(n) an inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest; skepticism.

Question 32

indignity

Answer 32

(n) treatment or circumstances that cause one to feel shame or to lose one’s dignity.

Question 33

iridescent

Answer 33

(adj) showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles.

Question 34

corpulent

Answer 34

(adj) (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. (146).

Question 35

parody

Answer 35

(n) an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.

Question 36

succulent

Answer 36

(adj) (of food) tender, juicy, and tasty.
“The boys with the spit gave Ralph and Piggy each a succulent chunk.” (149).

Question 37

gesticulating

Answer 37

(verb) use gestures, especially dramatic ones, instead of speaking or to emphasize one’s words.

Question 38

stricken

Answer 38

(adj) seriously affected by an undesirable condition or unpleasant feeling

Question 39

convulsively

Answer 39

(adv) to do in an irregular, jerky way

Question 40

torrid

Answer 40

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

Question 41

luminous

Answer 41

(adj) full of or shedding light; bright or shining, especially in the dark.

Question 42

myopia

Answer 42

(n) nearsightedness.

Question 43

propitiatingly

Answer 43

(adv) in a propitiating manner : so as to appease or conciliate.
“Piggy nodded propitiatingly.” (173).

Question 44

truculent

Answer 44

(adj) eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.
“Truculently they squared up to each other but kept just out of fighting distance.” (177).

Question 45

inimical

Answer 45

(adj) 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.” (187).

Question 46

ululation

Answer 46

(n) A 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. Then he glanced behind him nervously.” (189).