The Sea of Monsters: Chapters 17–20

by Rick Riordan
In this second book of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, the thirteen-year-old demigod must travel through dangerous waters to save his best friend and retrieve the magical cure for the poison destroying Camp Half-Blood.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–12, Chapters 13–16, Chapters 17–20

Here are links to our lists for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bustle
    move or cause to move energetically or busily
    Porters bustled around with carts of luggage.
  2. morosely
    in a sullen, moody manner
    “Does anybody have any cash?”
    Annabeth and Grover shook their heads morosely.
  3. unhinged
    affected or as if affected with madness or insanity
    The rest of Luke's crew looked uneasy. Maybe they’d never seen their boss so unhinged before.
  4. reinstate
    bring back into original existence, function, or position
    “It appears I shall have to reinstate Chiron as activities director. I suppose I do miss the old horse’s pinochle games.”
  5. versatility
    having a wide variety of skills
    Fighting two-handed with just a sword gives you more power, but fighting one-handed with a shield gives you better defense and versatility. There are more moves, more options, more ways to kill.
  6. tinge
    color lightly
    The edge of his sword was tinged with red.
  7. custom
    made according to the specifications of an individual
    As Luke was raising his sword to rally his troops, a centaur shot a custom-made arrow with a leather boxing glove on the end.
  8. thrum
    make or cause to make a low, continuous sound
    Somewhere down below deck, a large alarm bell thrummed.
  9. stunted
    inferior in size or quality
    We raced through marshy fields of high grass and ponds and stunted trees.
  10. modification
    the act of making something different
    While I worked with the horses, Tyson fixed up Athena’s chariot and added a whole bunch of special modifications.
  11. diplomatic
    marked by tact in dealing with sensitive matters or people
    “You weren’t able to talk sense into him?"
    “Well, we kind of tried to kill each other in a duel to the death.”
    “I see. You tried the diplomatic approach.”
  12. intervene
    get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action
    Percy, the hardest part about being a god is that you must often act indirectly, especially when it comes to your own children. If we were to intervene every time our children had a problem...well, that would only create more problems and more resentment.
  13. maim
    injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration
    “Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related, for better or worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum."
  14. stylus
    a pointed tool for writing, drawing, or engraving
    I didn’t much like touching snakes, but I picked up the pad and the stylus again.
  15. elegant
    refined and tasteful in appearance, behavior, or style
    It was addressed in strong but elegant handwriting that I’d seen once before, on a package Poseidon had sent me last summer.
  16. vague
    not clearly understood or expressed
    Maybe Poseidon had a reason for being so vague. Maybe he didn’t know exactly what he was warning me about, but he sensed something big was about to happen—something that could completely knock me off my feet unless I was prepared.
  17. suspension
    a mechanical system of springs or shock absorbers
    The wheels were realigned with magical suspension so we glided along with hardly a bump.
  18. grapple
    grip or seize, as in a wrestling match
    The third button brought up a grappling hook that could be used to lock onto an enemy’s chariot or push it away.
  19. console
    a scientific instrument with displays and an input device
    Beckendorf grinned as he pressed a button on his command console.
  20. winch
    a lifting device consisting of a cylinder turned by a crank
    Our chariot shuddered as Beckendorf's winch system started working—pulling us backward while Beckendorf pulled himself forward.
  21. infirmary
    a health facility where patients receive treatment
    Just because Beckendorf was a nice guy didn't mean he wouldn’t send us both to the infirmary if we let our guard down.
  22. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    In a split second the driver made the right choice: he dove out of the chariot, which careened away and exploded in green flames.
  23. bestow
    present
    The entire Athena cabin lifted me and Annabeth and Tyson onto their shoulders and carried us toward the winner's platform, where Chiron was waiting to bestow the laurel wreaths.
  24. furlough
    a temporary leave of absence, especially from military duty
    His bosses at the Council of Cloven Elders were so impressed that he hadn’t gotten himself killed and had cleared the way for future searchers, that they granted him a two-month furlough and a new set of reed pipes.
  25. aloft
    high up in or into the air
    I ran my hand across a picture of Tyson, battling the Hydra as he held aloft a box of Monster Donuts.
  26. weathered
    worn by exposure to the elements
    I looked up into his tan weathered face, his deep green eyes, and he spoke two words: Brace yourself.
  27. suffuse
    become overspread as with a fluid, a color, or light
    The tree itself looked perfectly fine, whole and healthy, suffused with the essence of the Golden Fleece.
  28. purge
    rid of impurities
    “It healed the tree,” Chiron said, his voice ragged. “And poison was not the only thing it purged.”
  29. lithe
    moving and bending with ease
    She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth—a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands I’d never heard of.
  30. bewilderment
    confusion resulting from failure to understand
    The girl stared at me in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who—"
Created on Tue Jul 05 16:45:45 EDT 2016 (updated Tue Aug 08 09:17:53 EDT 2023)

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