Number the Stars: Chapters 14–17

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. churning
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    She could hear the churning sea beyond, and see the wash of daylight to the east, over Sweden.
    The setting of this scene is important because 1) the sea is the escape route to Sweden and 2) the sea's churning waves parallel the emotional churning inside Annemarie as she runs through the woods to deliver the packet, with the fears that she might not get there on time and that her mission might be discovered by Nazi soldiers.
  2. brusque
    rudely abrupt or blunt in speech or manner
    The local doctor was an old man, brusque and businesslike, though with kind eyes.
  3. tantalize
    harass with persistent teasing or baiting
    Annemarie always tried to prolong this part, to build up the suspense and tantalize her sister.
  4. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    With them, straining at taut leashes, were two large dogs, their eyes glittering, their lips curled.
  5. consume
    eat immoderately
    They consumed it, each snapping at the bread and gulping it so that it was gone in an instant.
  6. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    Please, please, she implored in her mind. Don’t lift the napkin.
  7. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    But both dogs still looked intently at the basket, their ears alert, their mouths open.
  8. caustic
    harsh or corrosive in tone
    He gestured with the folded white cloth and gave a short, caustic laugh. “At least she didn’t stitch flowers on it.”
  9. subside
    descend into or as if into some soft substance or place
    The dogs lunged, sniffed at it eagerly, then subsided, disappointed again.
  10. strident
    unpleasantly loud and harsh
    She put them into the basket and ran around the bend toward the harbor, where the morning sky was now bright with early sun and some of the boat engines were starting their strident din.
  11. quavering
    (of the voice) shaking as from weakness or fear
    “Mama sent your lunch,” she said, her voice quavering.
  12. concealed
    not accessible to view
    The hiding places are carefully concealed, and often we pile dead fish on the deck as well.
  13. confront
    oppose, as in hostility or a competition
    Annemarie remembered the shiny boots confronting her on the dark path.
  14. devastating
    physically or spiritually destructive
    But Annemarie forced herself to think of her redheaded almost-brother, and how devastating the day was when they received the news that Peter had been captured and executed by the Germans in the public square at Ryvangen, in Copenhagen.
  15. bleak
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    Later, Annemarie had gone to the place with her parents and they had laid flowers there, on the bleak, numbered ground.
    "Bleak" also means "unpleasantly cold and damp," which along with the chosen definition, could be a fitting description of the physical ground in which the Nazis buried the bodies of the young men they had executed. "Bleak" ("offering little or no hope") could also describe the effect that all the numbered and unnamed graves, especially Peter's, has on Annemarie and her parents.
Created on Sat Sep 14 22:14:51 EDT 2013 (updated Fri Jun 13 15:46:17 EDT 2025)

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