The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Chapters 11–17

by Douglas Adams
When Earth is destroyed to make way for a freeway, Arthur Dent joins his friend Ford Prefect on a hilarious odyssey through space. Learn these words from the first book in Douglas Adams's popular science fiction series.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 4, Chapters 5–10, Chapters 11–17, Chapters 18–26, Chapters 27–35
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bravado
    a swaggering show of courage
    Whatever Zaphod’s qualities of mind might include—dash, bravado, conceit—he was mechanically inept and could easily blow the ship up with an extravagant gesture.
  2. inept
    generally incompetent and ineffectual
    Whatever Zaphod’s qualities of mind might include—dash, bravado, conceit—he was mechanically inept and could easily blow the ship up with an extravagant gesture.
  3. abject
    showing utter resignation or hopelessness
    The voice was low and hopeless and accompanied by a slight clanking sound. They spun round and saw an abject steel man standing hunched in the doorway.
  4. contemptuous
    expressing extreme scorn
    He was renowned for being amazingly clever and quite clearly was so—but not all the time, which obviously worried him, hence the act. He preferred people to be puzzled rather than contemptuous.
  5. permeate
    spread or diffuse through
    The Sirius Cybernetics Shipboard Computer, which controlled and permeated every particle of the ship, switched into communication mode.
  6. brash
    offensively bold
    The computer continued, brash and cheery as if it were selling detergent.
    “I want you to know that whatever your problem, I am here to help you solve it.”
  7. intone
    speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch
    “Funny,” he intoned funereally, “how just when you think life can’t possibly get any worse it suddenly does.”
  8. affectation
    a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display
    The peculiar man waved a lazy wave at Ford and with an appalling affectation of nonchalance said, “Ford, hi, how are you? Glad you could drop in.”
  9. volition
    the act of making a choice
    Its crew of four were ill at ease knowing that they had been brought together not of their own volition or by simple coincidence, but by some curious perversion of physics—as if relationships between people were susceptible to the same laws that governed the relationships between atoms and molecules.
  10. susceptible
    yielding readily to or capable of undergoing a process
    Its crew of four were ill at ease knowing that they had been brought together not of their own volition or by simple coincidence, but by some curious perversion of physics—as if relationships between people were susceptible to the same laws that governed the relationships between atoms and molecules.
  11. vitriolic
    harsh, bitter, or malicious in tone
    In the corner of his cabin was a small computer screen and keyboard. He sat at it for a while and tried to compose a new entry for the Guide on the subject of Vogons but couldn’t think of anything vitriolic enough so he gave that up too, wrapped a robe round himself and went for a walk to the bridge.
  12. trajectory
    the path followed by an object moving through space
    “Computer,” said Zaphod, “tell us what our present trajectory is.”
    “A real pleasure, feller,” it burbled; “we are currently in orbit at an altitude of three hundred miles around the legendary planet of Magrathea.”
  13. exacerbate
    make worse
    Stress and nervous tension are now serious social problems in all parts of the Galaxy, and it is in order that this situation should not be in any way exacerbated that the following facts will now be revealed in advance.
  14. perfunctory
    as a formality only
    This time the fanfare was quite perfunctory, the voice now distinctly cold.
  15. croon
    sing softly
    "At the end of the storm..." crooned Eddie.
Created on Wed Nov 08 19:23:17 EST 2017 (updated Mon Aug 04 09:50:21 EDT 2025)

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