The Lost Hero: Chapters 28–41

by Rick Riordan
This first book of The Heroes of Olympus series introduces fifteen-year-olds Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez, who are unaware that they are demigods until they are attacked on a school field trip and transported to Camp Half-Blood, where they also learn that Percy Jackson has disappeared and Hera has been imprisoned.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–18, Chapters 19–27, Chapters 28–41, Chapters 42–56

Here are links to our lists for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series.
40 words 210 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. consecrated
    made, declared, or believed to be holy
    To be properly forged, Imperial gold had to be consecrated in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill in Rome.
  2. volatile
    liable to lead to sudden change or violence
    Quite a powerful and rare metal, but like the Roman emperors, quite volatile.
  3. haggle
    wrangle, as over a price or terms of an agreement
    Name my price? Perhaps not the best haggling strategy, my boy, but at least you know a thing’s value.
  4. concoction
    an occurrence of an unusual mixture
    You have only seconds before this concoction consumes everything and destroys the building.
  5. fray
    a noisy fight
    He hurtled into the fray, snatching up a sun dragon in each claw.
  6. monotonous
    sounded or spoken in a tone unvarying in pitch
    The monotonous beat of the dragon’s wings made his eyes feel heavy.
  7. static
    crackling or hissing noise caused by electrical interference
    In his dream, he heard a voice full of static, like a bad AM radio: “Hello? Is this thing working?”
  8. lathe
    a machine tool for shaping a piece of rotating wood or metal
    He seemed to be in a workshop. Out of the corners of his eyes he saw bench saws, metal lathes, and tool cages.
  9. upstart
    an arrogant or presumptuous person
    Bad enough mortals won our war for us, but then that young upstart, Percy Jackson—
  10. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    He was using Morse code—just like Leo’s mom had taught him years ago. Leo listened more intently, translating the clicks into letters: a simple message repeating over and over.
  11. calibrate
    make fine adjustments for optimal measuring
    He felt like a broken machine himself—like someone had removed one little part of him, and now he’d never be complete. He might move, he might talk, he might keep going and do his job. But he’d always be off balance, never calibrated exactly right.
  12. turret
    a self-contained weapons platform housing guns
    He picked up a piece of dragon wreckage and threw it toward the top of the fence. Immediately a turret popped up from the brick wall and a beam of pure heat incinerated the bronze plating to ashes.
  13. cudgel
    a club that is used as a weapon
    As for Coach Hedge, he was still frozen mid-shout, his cudgel raised.
  14. caper
    jump about playfully
    Gleeson Hedge was capering around on his furry hindquarters, swinging his club and yelling, “Die!” as he smashed the tea set, whacked the sofas, and charged at the throne.
  15. diplomatic
    marked by tact in dealing with sensitive matters or people
    After the satyr left, Piper tried another diplomatic smile.
  16. repent
    feel sorry for; be contrite about
    “But you accidentally turned your own daughter to gold,” Piper remembered. “And you realized how greedy you’d been. So you repented.”
  17. trump
    get the better of
    “Gold trumps fire, I’m afraid.”
  18. dampen
    lessen in force or effect
    In this room, my power dampens all others: fire...even charmspeak.
  19. nonchalant
    marked by casual unconcern or indifference
    “We have to get you warm.” Jason sat next to her and held out his arms a little awkwardly. “Uh, you mind if I...”
    “I suppose.” She tried to sound nonchalant.
  20. indignantly
    in a manner showing anger at something unjust or wrong
    “Nature means big things killing and eating little things! And when you’re a—you know—vertically challenged satyr like me, you get in good shape, you carry a big stick, and you don’t take nothing from no one! That’s nature.” Hedge snorted indignantly.
  21. lithe
    moving and bending with ease
    His frame was lithe and muscular, like a distance runner’s.
  22. lycanthrope
    a mythological creature that changes from a man to wild animal at night
    “So Zeus turned him into a wolf,” Piper said. “They call...they call werewolves lycanthropes, named after him, the first werewolf.”
  23. elated
    full of high-spirited delight
    Hedge charged forward with an elated “Woot!”
  24. appease
    make peace with
    Mom even said she hadn’t wanted to name you Jason, but Zeus insisted, as a way to appease Hera because the goddess liked that name.
  25. hypothermia
    subnormal body temperature
    Somebody give me hypothermia. I want hot chocolate and a parka!
  26. chasm
    a deep opening in the earth's surface
    The two of them scrambled up the bridge, and when they turned, Thalia was on the other side of a thirty-foot chasm.
  27. renounce
    turn away from; give up
    Their dad wasn’t much of a bargain, either. Jason understood why Thalia had renounced that part of her life too, but he was still resentful.
  28. citadel
    a stronghold for shelter during a battle
    Twenty-foot-high gates opened for them, and a road of polished purple stone led up to the main citadel—a white-columned rotunda, Greek style, like one of the monuments in Washington, D.C.—except for the cluster of satellite dishes and radio towers on the roof.
  29. dappled
    having spots or patches of color
    He wore a business suit that looked like the sky—blue mostly, but dappled with clouds that changed and darkened and moved across the fabric.
  30. moderate
    not extreme
    Hephaestus feels sorry for central Missouri, so you all will have much more moderate temperatures and sunny skies.
  31. initiative
    readiness to embark on bold new ventures
    I mean, I think I’ve shown quite a bit of initiative with the weather channel, eh?
  32. mollify
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    “We hear you know everything.”
    Aeolus straightened his lapels and looked slightly mollified.
  33. brunt
    the main part, especially of a force or shock
    She dived at their feet just as the storm spirits hit with hurricane force, blasting the floor to pieces, shredding the carpet samples and marble and linoleum into what should’ve been lethal projectiles, had Mellie’s robes not spread out like a shield and absorbed the brunt of the impact.
  34. shrapnel
    shell containing lead pellets that explodes in flight
    The storm spirits were following them down, closing rapidly, bringing with them a cloud of deadly shrapnel.
  35. forebear
    a person from whom you are descended
    "...Love is powerful, Piper. It can bring even the gods to their knees. I told this to my son Aeneas when he escaped from Troy. He thought he had failed. He thought he was a loser! But he traveled to Italy—”
    “And became the forebear of Rome.”
  36. orchestrate
    plan and direct (a complex undertaking)
    She orchestrated Ouranos’s death. She gave Kronos the sickle and urged him to kill his own father.
  37. mediator
    a negotiator who acts as a link between parties
    When the two sides meet...you will be the mediator. You will determine whether there is friendship or bloodshed.
  38. bearing
    (usually plural) a person's awareness of self
    Jason blinked, trying to get his bearings.
  39. basin
    the geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries
    “Bad place, Jason. Trust me, this is as close to ’Frisco as we want to get.”
    But Jason looked toward the foggy basin with such longing that Leo felt uneasy.
  40. megalomaniac
    a pathological egotist
    The only people who could stop it—three fashionably dressed teenaged demigods and a megalomaniac goat.
Created on Tue Apr 25 14:03:48 EDT 2017 (updated Sat Aug 19 10:57:53 EDT 2023)

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.