Number the Stars: Chapters 5–8

by Lois Lowry
During World War II, ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her family take part in a courageous effort to protect the Jewish citizens of Denmark from the Nazis.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–17, Introduction and Afterword
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. imperious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    Ellen stood on tiptoe again, and made an imperious gesture with her arm.
    Unlike the haughty or disdainful attitude of Kirsti or the sneering, scornful, and contemptuous attitudes of the soldiers (all the adjectives are semi-synonymous), Ellen is neither a somewhat spoiled five-year-old who doesn't know any better nor an armed invader of a country whose king had surrendered. Rather, Ellen is joking with Annemarie and repeating a role she'd performed in a school play.
  2. intone
    speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch
    “I am the Dark Queen,” she intoned dramatically. “I have come to command the night!”
  3. abruptly
    quickly and without warning
    It was hours later, but still dark, when she was awakened abruptly by the pounding on the apartment door.
  4. crumple
    gather something into small wrinkles or folds
    As the door opened and light flooded into the bedroom, she crumpled it into her hand and closed her fingers tightly.
  5. wince
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    Suddenly he grabbed a handful of Ellen’s hair. Ellen winced.
  6. unwavering
    marked by firm determination or resolution
    “Lise Margrete,” he read finally, and stared at Ellen for a long, unwavering moment.
  7. imprint
    mark or stamp with or as if with pressure
    She looked down, and saw that she had imprinted the Star of David into her palm.
  8. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    Ellen and Annemarie both smiled tentatively. For a moment their fear was eased.
  9. reluctantly
    with a certain degree of unwillingness
    Annemarie watched his face and knew that he was struggling with the decision. Finally he nodded, reluctantly.
  10. distort
    twist and press out of shape
    One of them had something stuck in his teeth; he probed with his tongue and distorted his own face.
  11. massive
    imposing in size or bulk or solidity
    She had been talking about Kronborg Castle ever since they had seen it, sprawling massive and ancient, beside the sea, from the train.
  12. outskirts
    area relatively far from the center, as of a city or town
    She turned, leading the way along a tiny, twisting street, heading toward the outskirts of the village.
  13. ruefully
    in a manner expressing pain or sorrow
    But it wasn’t a joke at all, though Mama laughed ruefully.
  14. specter
    a mental representation of some haunting experience
    Suddenly, here in this sunlit kitchen, with cream in a pitcher and a bird in the apple tree beside the door — and out in the Kattegat, where Uncle Henrik, surrounded by bright blue sky and water, pulled in his nets filled with shiny silver fish — suddenly the specter of guns and grim-faced soldiers seemed nothing more than a ghost story, a joke with which to frighten children in the dark.
  15. casket
    box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
    There has been a death, and tonight your Great-aunt Birte will be resting in the living room, in her casket, before she is buried tomorrow.
Created on Sat Sep 14 22:00:27 EDT 2013 (updated Fri Jun 13 15:24:37 EDT 2025)

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