The Chrysalids Vocab. Chapter 6-11

Front 1

fathom

Back 1

a unit of length equal to 6 feet, used principally in the measurement and specification of marine depths

Front 2

concoct

Back 2

to invent or make up a story or plan

Front 3

plodding

Back 3

to move or walk heavily or laboriouslly

Front 4

mizzen

Back 4

noting a sail, yard, broom, etc any rigging belonging to a mizzen lower mast or to some upper mast of a mizzen mast

Front 5

monstrosity

Back 5

an outrageous or ugly person or thing

Front 6

barren

Back 6

lacking vegetation, esp. useful vegetation

Front 7

saprophyte

Back 7

an organism, esp. a fungus or bacterium that grows on and derives its nourishment from dead or decaying organic matter

Front 8

reclamation

Back 8

a restoration, as to productivity, usefulness, or morality

Front 9

jury-rigged

Back 9

to rig or assemble for temporary emergency use. Improvise

Front 10

seaboard

Back 10

land near the sea

Front 11

starboard

Back 11

the right hand side of a ship or aircraft as one faces forward

Front 12

abet

Back 12

to urge, encourage or help (a person)

Front 13

succulent

Back 13

highly interesting or enjoyable, delectable

Front 14

conceal

Back 14

to keep from being seen, found, observed, or discovered

Front 15

consolation

Back 15

one that consoles, a comfort

Front 16

malicious

Back 16

full of, characterized by, or showing malice, malevolent, spiteful

Front 17

pretence

Back 17

a false show of something

Front 18

fawn

Back 18

a light yellowish-brown colour

Front 19

heresy

Back 19

opinion or doctrine at variance with the orthodox or accepted doctrine, esp. of a church or religious system

Front 20

quill

Back 20

a feather, as of a goose, formed into a pen for writing

Front 21

hideous

Back 21

horrible or frightful to the senses, repulsive, very ugly

Front 22

defilment

Back 22

something which is polluted, impure or corrupt

Front 23

effrontery

Back 23

shameless or impudent boldness, barefaced audacity

Front 24

funk

Back 24

a dejected mood

Front 25

accursed

Back 25

under a curse, doomed, ill-fated

Front 26

gist

Back 26

the central idea, the essence

Front 27

fruition

Back 27

attainment of anything desired, realization, accomplishment

Front 28

lewd

Back 28

obscene or indecent, as language or songs

Front 29

queer

Back 29

strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint, unusually different

Front 30

atrociously

Back 30

extremely or shockingly wicked, cruel or brutal

Front 31

pelt

Back 31

to beat or pound unrelentingly

Front 32

hither and thither

Back 32

in various quarters, here and there

Front 33

namby-pamby

Back 33

lacking in character, directness or moral or emotional strength

Front 34

stooking

Back 34

to set up, as sheaves of grain, in stooks

Front 35

chafe

Back 35

to wear or abrade by rubbing, to irritate, annoy

Front 36

scythe

Back 36

an agricultural implement consisting of a long, curving blade fastened at an angle to a handle, for cutting grass, grain etc by hand

Front 37

incredulous

Back 37

not credulous, disinclined or indisposed to believe, sceptical

Front 38

sheave

Back 38

to gather, collect or bind into a sheaf or sheaves

Front 39

scapegoat

Back 39

chiefly biblical. a goat let loose in the wilderness on Yom Kippur after the high priest symbolically laid the sins of the people on its head.

Front 40

acrid

Back 40

extremely or sharply stinging or bitter, exceedingly

Front 41

blinkered

Back 41

narrow-minded and subjective, unwilling to understand another viewpoint

Front 42

dilemma

Back 42

a situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives

Front 43

to renounce

Back 43

to give up or put aside voluntarily, to repudiate

Front 44

sham

Back 44

something that is not what it purports to be, a spurious imitation, fraud or hoax

Front 45

dissemble

Back 45

to give a false or misleading appearance to, conceal the truth or real nature of

Front 46

lugubriously

Back 46

in a sorrowful, mournful or dismal manner

Front 47

to flounder

Back 47

to struggle clumsily or helplessly

Front 48

abnegate

Back 48

to refuse or deny oneself (some rights, conveniences etc)

Front 49

expiate

Back 49

to atone for, make amends or reparation for

Front 50

impasse

Back 50

a position or situation from which there is no escape, deadlock

Front 51

to dissuade

Back 51

to deter by advice or persuasion, persuade not to do something

Front 52

gravitate

Back 52

to have a natural tendency or be strongly attracted

Front 53

orthodox

Back 53

customary or conventional, as a means or method, established

Front 54

abeyance

Back 54

temporary inactivity, cessation, or suspension

Front 55

the forge

Back 55

the workshop of a blacksmith, smithy

Front 56

retrousse

Back 56

esp. of the nose, turned up

Front 57

tribunal

Back 57

a court of justice

Front 58

propitious

Back 58

presenting favorable conditions

Front 59

placate

Back 59

to appease or pacify, esp. by concessions or conciliatory gestures

Front 60

appease

Back 60

to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm or contentment

Front 61

overt

Back 61

open to view or knowledge, not concealed or secret

Front 62

lament

Back 62

to feel or express sorrow or regret for

Front 63

haunch

Back 63

a hindquarter of an animal

Front 64

deposition

Back 64

a statement under oath, taken down in writing, to be used in court in place of the spoken testimony of the witness

Front 65

incisor

Back 65

any of the four anterior teeth in each jaw, used for cutting and gnawing

Front 66

proprietor

Back 66

a person who has the exclusive right or title to something, an owner as of real property

Front 67

splodge

Back 67

an irregularly shaped spot

Front 68

amorphous

Back 68

lacking definite form, having no specific shape