Catching Fire: Chapters 1–4

by Suzanne Collins
In this sequel to The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta are forced to participate in the Quarter Quell, while unrest in the districts of Panem threatens the Capitol. Learn these words from Suzanne Collins' popular trilogy.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–14, Chapters 15–18, Chapters 19–22, Chapters 23–27

Here are links to our lists for the trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Here is a link to our lists for Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins.
40 words 2022 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. loathe
    dislike intensely; feel disgust toward
    I will have to travel from district to district, to stand before the cheering crowds who secretly loathe me, to look down into the faces of the families whose children I have killed….
  2. install
    put into an office or a position
    My old home. We still get to keep it since officially it’s the designated dwelling of my mother and sister. If I should drop dead right now, they would have to return to it. But at present, they’re both happily installed in the new house in the Victor’s Village, and I’m the only one who uses the squat little place where I was raised.
  3. hearth
    a built-in space in a wall where a fire can be built
    It has an abandoned quality with no fire on the hearth, no cloth on the table.
  4. authority
    persons who exercise control over others
    I wish I could go back to it because, in retrospect, it seems so secure compared with now, when I am so rich and so famous and so hated by the authorities in the Capitol.
  5. exorbitant
    greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
    Gale told me that Greasy Sae, the old woman who serves up soup, started a collection to sponsor Peeta and me during the Games. It was supposed to be just a Hob thing, but a lot of other people heard about it and chipped in. I don’t know exactly how much it was, and the price of any gift in the arena was exorbitant. But for all I know, it made the difference between my life and death.
  6. protocol
    code of correct conduct
    They’ve been sending me all kinds of stuff about my itinerary and what protocol will be observed in each district.
  7. despise
    look down on with disdain or disgust
    A shiver goes through me when I think of the proximity of my mother and sister to this man who despises me. Will always despise me. Because I outsmarted his sadistic Hunger Games, made the Capitol look foolish, and consequently undermined his control.
  8. coincidental
    occurring or operating at the same time
    All I was doing was trying to keep Peeta and myself alive. Any act of rebellion was purely coincidental.
  9. audacity
    aggressive or outright boldness
    But when the Capitol decrees that only one tribute can live and you have the audacity to challenge it, I guess that’s a rebellion in itself.
  10. defiance
    an act boldly resisting authority or an opposing force
    In several of them, however, people viewed your little trick with the berries as an act of defiance, not an act of love. And if a girl from District Twelve of all places can defy the Capitol and walk away unharmed, what is to stop them from doing the same?” he says.
  11. uprising
    organized opposition to authority
    “There have been uprisings?” I ask, both chilled and somewhat elated by the possibility.
  12. revolution
    the overthrow of a government by those who are governed
    And uprisings have been known to lead to revolution.
  13. inferno
    a very intense and uncontrolled fire
    Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire, you have provided a spark that, left unattended, may grow to an inferno that destroys Panem,” he says.
  14. resolution
    finding an answer to a problem
    Him I can easily kill off if we don’t come to a happy resolution,” he says.
  15. flaunt
    display proudly
    From the president’s point of view, I’ve ignored Peeta and flaunted my preference for Gale’s company before the whole district.
  16. convince
    make realize the truth or validity of something
    I’ll convince everyone in the districts that I wasn’t defying the Capitol, that I was crazy with love,” I say.
  17. frustrate
    discourage or cause annoyance or upset
    Besides, Gale’s already so angry and frustrated with the Capitol that I sometimes think he’s going to arrange his own uprising.
  18. incentive
    a positive motivational influence
    The last thing he needs is an incentive.
  19. association
    the act of consorting with or joining with others
    But my guess is Cinna might already be at risk, and I don’t want to pull him into any more trouble by closer association with me.
  20. drama
    the quality of being arresting or highly emotional
    Gale’s convinced the Capitol does it on purpose, rigs the drawings to add extra drama.
  21. guarantee
    make certain of
    Given all the trouble I’ve caused, I’ve probably guaranteed any child of mine a spot in the Games.
  22. mandatory
    required by rule
    The thought of being left to my prep team's fashion whims only adds to the miseries competing for my attention—my abused body, my lack of sleep, my mandatory marriage, and the terror of being unable to satisfy President Snow’s demands.
  23. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    She’s hardly to blame for my current predicament.
  24. duplicitous
    marked by deliberate deceptiveness
    His offer does make me feel better. Less duplicitous somehow. It would be nice if he’d come to me with this earlier, before I knew that President Snow had other plans and just being friends was not an option for us anymore.
  25. etiquette
    rules governing socially acceptable behavior
    So when we go back to the dining car, where the others are still at lunch, I give Effie an apology that I think is overkill but in her mind probably just manages to compensate for my breach of etiquette.
  26. disintegrate
    break into parts or components or lose cohesion or unity
    Nightmares—which I was no stranger to before the Games—now plague me whenever I sleep. But the old standby, the one of my father being blown to bits in the mines, is rare. Instead I relive versions of what happened in the arena. My worthless attempt to save Rue. Peeta bleeding to death. Glimmer’s bloated body disintegrating in my hands. Cato’s horrific end with the muttations.
  27. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    This is where I have to convince everybody how in love I am with Peeta, I think. The solemn ceremony is pretty tightly mapped out, so I'm not sure how to do it.
  28. token
    something serving as a sign of something else
    “It can in no way replace your losses, but as a token of our thanks we’d like for each of the tributes’ families from District Eleven to receive one month of our winnings every year for the duration of our lives.”
  29. precedent
    an example that is used to justify similar occurrences
    There is no precedent for what Peeta has done. I don’t even know if it’s legal.
  30. provide
    supply means of subsistence; earn a living
    Their lives were changed forever when Thresh and Rue were lost, but this gift will change them again. A month of tribute winnings can easily provide for a family for a year. As long as we live, they will not hunger.
  31. reproachful
    expressing disapproval, blame, or disappointment
    Despite the good news about the winnings, she’s not happy. In fact, her look is reproachful.
  32. passive
    lacking in energy or will
    How can I stand here, passive and mute, leaving all the words to Peeta?
  33. gesture
    something done as an indication of intention
    I remember how I took care in the arena to cover her with flowers, to make sure her loss did not go unnoticed. But that gesture will mean nothing if I don’t support it now.
  34. refusal
    the act of showing unwillingness
    “I only ever spoke to Thresh one time. Just long enough for him to spare my life. I didn’t know him, but I always respected him. For his power. For his refusal to play the Games on anyone’s terms but his own. The Careers wanted him to team up with them from the beginning, but he wouldn’t do it. I respected him for that.”
  35. unison
    the act of occurring together or simultaneously
    What happens next is not an accident. It is too well executed to be spontaneous, because it happens in complete unison. Every person in the crowd presses the three middle fingers of their left hand against their lips and extends them to me.
  36. dread
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    But with his recent orders to calm the districts fresh in my ears, it fills me with dread.
  37. salute
    an act of honor or courteous recognition
    What will he think of this very public salute to the girl who defied the Capitol?
  38. elicit
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    It was not intentional—I only meant to express my thanks—but I have elicited something dangerous.
  39. dissent
    the act of protesting
    An act of dissent from the people of District 11.
  40. undermine
    weaken or impair, especially gradually
    I try to think of something to say to undermine what has just happened, to negate it, but I can hear the slight burst of static indicating my microphone has been cut off and the mayor has taken over.
Created on Thu Jul 27 16:09:44 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Oct 01 16:35:37 EDT 2018)

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.