The Hound of the Baskervilles: Chapters 11–15

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
After Charles Baskerville is found dead, legendary detective Sherlock Holmes is enlisted to protect his heir from the same fate. Read the full text here.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–15

Here are links to our lists for other works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Five Orange Pips, The Red-Headed League
15 words 815 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reticent
    not inclined to talk or provide information
    And yet the more I thought of the lady's face and of her manner the more I felt that something was being held back from me. Why should she turn so pale? Why should she fight against every admission until it was forced from her? Why should she have been so reticent at the time of the tragedy?
  2. incredulity
    doubt about the truth of something
    If I could get his knowledge it might save me a long and weary hunt. But incredulity and indifference were evidently my strongest cards.
  3. perseverance
    persistent determination
    Everything was working in my favour, and I swore that it should not be through lack of energy or perseverance that I should miss the chance which fortune had thrown in my way.
  4. irrevocable
    incapable of being retracted
    We stood with bitter hearts on either side of the mangled body, overwhelmed by this sudden and irrevocable disaster which had brought all our long and weary labours to so piteous an end.
  5. conjecture
    the formation of conclusions from incomplete evidence
    "Surely we have a case."
    "Not a shadow of one—only surmise and conjecture. We should be laughed out of court if we came with such a story and such evidence."
  6. conscientious
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
    I am not sure that as a conscientious detective my first duty is not to arrest the whole household.
  7. incriminating
    charging or suggestive of guilt or blame
    Watson's reports are most incriminating documents.
  8. bode
    indicate by signs
    He burst into one of his rare fits of laughter as he turned away from the picture. I have not heard him laugh often, and it has always boded ill to somebody.
  9. implicitly
    without doubting or questioning
    My dear fellow, you must trust me implicitly and do exactly what I tell you.
  10. implicate
    bring into intimate and incriminating connection
    We regard this case as one of murder, and the evidence may implicate not only your friend Mr. Stapleton but his wife as well.
  11. loath
    unwilling to do something contrary to your custom
    One of Sherlock Holmes's defects—if, indeed, one may call it a defect—was that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfilment.
  12. vulnerable
    capable of being wounded or hurt
    But that cry of pain from the hound had blown all our fears to the winds. If he was vulnerable he was mortal, and if we could wound him we could kill him.
  13. mire
    a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
    Rank reeds and lush, slimy water-plants sent an odour of decay and a heavy miasmatic vapour onto our faces, while a false step plunged us more than once thigh-deep into the dark, quivering mire, which shook for yards in soft undulations around our feet.
  14. tenacious
    stubbornly unyielding
    Its tenacious grip plucked at our heels as we walked, and when we sank into it it was as if some malignant hand was tugging us down into those obscene depths, so grim and purposeful was the clutch in which it held us.
  15. elucidate
    make clear and comprehensible
    The more outre and grotesque an incident is the more carefully it deserves to be examined, and the very point which appears to complicate a case is, when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one which is most likely to elucidate it.
Created on Thu Sep 08 19:26:51 EDT 2016 (updated Fri Jul 11 16:47:17 EDT 2025)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.