A Clash of Kings: Chapters 14–27

by George R.R. Martin
In the second volume of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, six rival houses continue to battle to rule the kingdom of Westeros.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 13, Chapters 14–27, Chapters 28–41, Chapters 42–55, Chapters 56–69

Here are links to our lists for other volumes in A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin: A Game of Thrones, A Storm of Swords, A Dance with Dragons
30 words 112 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. pretext
    a fictitious reason that conceals the real reason
    Stannis must have some pretext to justify his rebellion.
  2. credence
    the mental attitude that something is believable
    If we attempt to silence this talk, we only lend it credence.
  3. guileless
    innocent and free of deceit
    Hodor blinked at him with guileless brown eyes, eyes innocent of understanding.
  4. retribution
    a justly deserved penalty
    He may look, but should he do more I promise you there will be dire retribution.
    Compare with "vengeance" in the list for the Prologue-Chapter 13. The nouns are usually synonymous, but here, Ser Rodrik is not angrily focused on the murder of Ned Stark; instead, he is trying to reassure Lady Hornwood that he is a source of justice and protection. The adjective "dire" ("causing fear or dread or terror") emphasizes his strength both as a knight and as a member of House Stark (whose sigil is a direwolf).
  5. truculent
    defiantly aggressive
    And to Bran's astonishment, the truculent Umbers agreed to do as he commanded, though not without grumbling.
  6. frailty
    the state of being weak in health or body
    "A most uncommon woman, and yet...it is no small thing, to tend to all the cares of the realm, despite the frailty of her sex..."
    "Frailty" also means "moral weakness"--this is not the definition that Grand Maester Pycelle intends here, because he is talking about the Queen Regent, whom he prefers to flatter in order to keep his position; but it would be a fitting definition for Cersei, whose frailty in morality pushes her to display a cruel strength in her dealings with people who displease or threaten her and her children.
  7. compliant
    disposed to act in accordance with someone's wishes
    Whether truly loyal or merely desperate, a compliant river lord might have his uses.
    "Compliant" is a kangaroo word, because within, it carries the synonymous adjective "pliant" ("capable of being influenced"). "Pliant" also means "capable of being bent without breaking"--this connects the example sentence to the image of a lord bending his knee to a more powerful king.
  8. flaunt
    display proudly
    Make my progress, flaunt my power for the realm to see, watch, wait.
  9. inexorable
    impossible to prevent, resist, or stop
    Stannis was otherwise: hard, cold, inexorable.
    Tyrion's comparisons between two Baratheon brothers suggest that Stannis is unloved because he is inexorable. Wanting to be loved, Tyrion would not be inexorable: he is described in another example sentence (see "appease" in this list) granting one of Robb Stark's terms for peace ("appease" comes from the Latin "pax" which means "peace").
  10. languid
    lacking spirit or liveliness
    Lord Petyr was seated on his window seat, languid and elegant in a plush plum-colored doublet and a yellow satin cape, one gloved hand resting on his knee.
  11. pallor
    an unnatural lack of color in the skin
    "Drink with the dwarf, it's said, and you wake up walking the Wall. Black brings out my unhealthy pallor."
  12. sinecure
    a job that involves minimal duties
    Ten years ago, Jon Arryn had given him a minor sinecure in customs, where Lord Petyr had soon distinguished himself by bringing in three times as much as any of the king's other collectors.
  13. beleaguer
    surround so as to force to give up
    Within three years of his coming to court, he was master of coin and a member of the small council, and today the crown's revenues were ten times what they had been under his beleaguered predecessor...though the crown's debts had grown vast as well.
  14. genial
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
    Littlefinger was no threat to anyone. A clever, smiling, genial man, everyone's friend, always able to find whatever gold the king or his Hand required, and yet of such undistinguished birth, one step up from a hedge knight, he was not a man to fear.
  15. renown
    the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed
    I've won no tourneys, no renown in war...but I was a knight once, and you have helped me remember what that meant.
  16. demolish
    destroy completely
    They found the gates broken down, the walls partly demolished, and the inside strewn with the unburied dead.
  17. gingerly
    with extreme care or delicacy
    The damp stone walls were splotchy with nitre, and the only light came from the sealed iron-and-glass oil lamp that Hallyne the Pyromancer carried so gingerly.
  18. acolyte
    a devoted follower or assistant
    The substance is prepared by trained acolytes in a series of bare stone cells, and each jar is removed by an apprentice and carried down here the instant it is ready.
    The pyromancers belong to an ancient order that supposedly has access to vast stores of knowledge, but they are connected by a guild rather than a religious institution. In exchange for money, they pledged to make jars of wildfire for the kingdom's defense; the actual task is left to trained acolytes and apprentices--assistants who are seen as more dispensable should something go wrong.
  19. scourge
    a whip used to inflict punishment
    "There is the warning! Behold the Father's scourge!" He pointed at the fuzzy red wound in the sky.
  20. bountiful
    producing in abundance
    "May your winters be short and your summers bountiful," he said.
  21. astringent
    acidic or bitter in taste or smell
    Fate drives me south and south again, Catelyn thought as she sipped the astringent tea, when it is north I should be going, north to home.
  22. stint
    supply sparingly and with restricted quantities
    He does not stint himself, this Renly, she thought as she looked about.
    Compare with "flaunt" in this list. Both example sentences refer to Renly: in one, Tyrion takes on Renly's perspective, and here, Catelyn judges Renly based on what she sees inside the pavilion he'd set up in his army's camp. Although the verbs are nearly antonymous, the two example sentences make the same point about Renly: he enjoys power and wealth, so he prefers flaunting to stinting.
  23. morose
    showing a brooding ill humor
    "You cheer me," said Edd, sounding utterly morose.
    Compare with "dolorous" in the list for the Prologue-Chapter 13. Although the definitions are not identical, the adjectives are synonymous with each other and with "dour" since all of them describe the natural mood of the same character. The example sentence shows more good humor than Dolorous Edd, since the words he says contrast with the way he says them, and because he goes on with a depressing description of murder by maul.
  24. reproach
    a mild rebuke or criticism
    Sam gave him a look of wounded reproach. "I thought you would help her."
  25. tenuous
    lacking substance or significance
    A dwarf enjoyed at best a tenuous hold on dignity.
  26. appease
    cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
    You appease the Stark boy with his father's bones and strip your sister of her protectors in one swift stroke.
  27. sheepishness
    feeling embarrassed about yourself
    The direwolf was the sigil of the Starks, but Arya felt more a lamb, surrounded by a herd of other sheep. She hated the villagers for their sheepishness, almost as much as she hated herself.
    Arya makes a comparison to actual sheep, so the word "sheepishness" is a pun that describes both how she feels about the villagers' meek behavior and how she feels about herself for acting the same way, especially since her nature is usually bold and aggressive like a wolf.
  28. squalid
    foul and run-down and repulsive
    "It is the center of the world, the gate between north and south, the bridge between east and west, ancient beyond memory of man and so magnificent that Saathos the Wise put out his eyes after gazing upon Qarth for the first time, because he knew that all he saw thereafter should look squalid and ugly by comparison."
  29. ludicrous
    inviting ridicule
    "Once they were mighty," Xaro agreed, "but now they are as ludicrous as those feeble old soldiers who boast of their prowess long after strength and skill have left them.
  30. bereft
    lacking or deprived of something
    "Then I grieve for you, Dragonmother, and for bleeding Westeros, bereft of its rightful king."
Created on Sat Jan 11 21:07:01 EST 2014 (updated Mon Oct 01 16:59:20 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.