Treasure Island: Part V

by Robert Louis Stevenson
In this tale of pirates and plunder, Jim Hawkins sets out for Skeleton Island to find buried treasure. Read the full text here.

Here are links to all of our lists for the novel: Part I, Parts II–III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. carouse
    celebrate or enjoy something in a noisy or wild way
    One was the great fire on shore, by which the defeated pirates lay carousing in the swamp.
  2. buoyant
    tending to float on a liquid or rise in air or gas
    The coracle—as I had ample reason to know before I was done with her—was a very safe boat for a person of my height and weight, both buoyant and clever in a sea-way; but she was the most cross-grained, lopsided craft to manage.
    Another definition of "buoyant" is "characterized by liveliness and lightheartedness"—this also seems to fit Jim's description of the little boat, because he personifies it by calling it "she" and seemingly comparing it to a willful woman who would never go in the direction she's pointed towards because she prefers to turn around and around in circles.
  3. ditty
    a short simple song
    "But one man of the crew alive,
    What put to sea with seventy-five."
    And I thought it was a ditty rather too dolefully appropriate for a company that had met such cruel losses in the morning.
  4. callous
    emotionally hardened
    But, indeed, from what I saw, all these buccaneers were as callous as the sea they sailed on.
  5. incessant
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    The ship was talking, as sailors say, loudly, treading the innumerable ripples with an incessant weltering splash; and until I got my eye above the window sill I could not comprehend why the watchmen had taken no alarm.
  6. skiff
    a small boat propelled by oars or by sails or by a motor
    I lay down flat in the bottom of that wretched skiff and devoutly recommended my spirit to its Maker.
  7. reverberation
    an echo
    Among the fallen rocks the breakers spouted and bellowed; loud reverberations, heavy sprays flying and falling, succeeded one another from second to second; and I saw myself, if I ventured nearer, dashed to death upon the rough shore or spending my strength in vain to scale the beetling crags.
  8. promontory
    a natural elevation
    I could see the cool, green tree-tops swaying together in the breeze, and I felt sure I should make the next promontory without fail.
  9. haggard
    showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
    It was a smile that had in it something both of pain and weakness—a haggard, old man's smile; but there was, besides that, a grain of derision, a shadow of treachery, in his expression as he craftily watched, and watched, and watched me at my work.
  10. pretext
    a fictitious reason that conceals the real reason
    Now the coxswain's hesitation seemed to be unnatural; and as for the notion of his preferring wine to brandy, I entirely disbelieved it. The whole story was a pretext.
  11. disquietude
    feelings of anxiety that make you tense and irritable
    I might have fallen without a struggle for my life, had not a sudden disquietude seized upon me and made me turn my head.
  12. feint
    any distracting or deceptive maneuver
    Seeing that I meant to dodge he also paused, and a moment or two passed in feints on his part and corresponding movements upon mine.
  13. cant
    lean or slope to one side
    Well, while things stood thus, suddenly the Hispaniola struck, staggered, ground for an instant in the sand, and then, swift as a blow, canted over to the port side, till the deck stood at an angle of forty-five degrees, and about a puncheon of water splashed into the scupper holes, and lay in a pool between the deck and bulwark.
  14. volition
    the act of making a choice
    In the horrid pain and surprise of the moment—I scarce can say it was by my own volition, and I am sure it was without a conscious aim—both my pistols went off, and both escaped out of my hands.
  15. desist
    stop performing some action
    It was my first thought to pluck forth the dirk; but either it stuck too hard or my nerve failed me, and I desisted with a violent shudder.
Created on Fri Mar 01 16:05:51 EST 2013 (updated Wed Aug 06 15:40:19 EDT 2025)

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