Dragon Pearl: Chapters 30–38

by Yoon Ha Lee
Min is a fox spirit, or shapeshifter, living on the planet Jinju. When her brother is accused of deserting his military post to search for a magical artifact, she must find him and clear his name.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–13, Chapters 14–22, Chapters 23–29, Chapters 30–38
40 words 23 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    The trees rose around us like stern sentinels, veiling the sky with their leaves.
  2. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    We had no wild forests like this on Jinju due to the inadequate water. The longer we walked, the more I began to appreciate nuances.
  3. outcropping
    part of a rock formation that juts above surrounding land
    I caught sight of a clearing where boulders glittered faintly with fantastic outcroppings of crystal and curling ferns grew shyly at their sides.
  4. mollify
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    The winds seemed less cruel whenever I paused to admire the forest’s wonders. It was almost as if the spirits who were stirring up the air were mollified by my flattering gaze.
  5. fitful
    intermittently stopping and starting
    I stumbled often, not helped by the distracting voices. One of them started to distinguish itself from the others, fitfully growing louder.
  6. coalesce
    fuse or cause to come together
    A pale form coalesced before us. At first it took on the indistinct shape of some four-legged animal, crouching low to the ground. I blinked, and the animal’s outline blurred and shifted, gradually becoming human.
  7. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    Silently I berated myself for all the time I’d wasted getting to the Fourth Colony, all the hours I’d spent doing silly chores on the Pale Lightning while impersonating Jang.
  8. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    I fleetingly thought of the stupid bet I’d made with my cousin Bora about Jun coming home.
  9. spectral
    resembling or characteristic of a phantom
    His long hair, the spectral flames, the way his body faded out from the waist down so I couldn’t see his legs….
  10. rivulet
    a small stream
    “The rocks are going to be slippery,” Jun warned as we approached a faint trail zigzagging up a hill. Water ran down it in glistening rivulets.
  11. conspicuous
    obvious to the eye or mind
    Meanwhile, Haneul kept trying to signal Sujin. She fussed conspicuously with her dripping hair, which was so unlike her that Sujin frowned in her direction.
  12. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    Jun’s rueful smile flickered so quickly I almost wasn’t sure I’d glimpsed it. “If I’d really wanted to hand you over to him,” he said, “I wouldn’t have let you slip off like that. The other crew members might not recognize when they’re being Charmed, but I certainly do.”
  13. macabre
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    “That was a lifetime ago,” Jun said with macabre humor.
  14. quell
    overcome or allay
    I quelled a surge of despair.
  15. emaciated
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    All of them had emaciated faces, the bones of their skulls showing prominently, as if ready to erupt through the skin.
  16. lesion
    an injury to living tissue
    They didn’t have the gruesome lesions of smallpox, the disease that gods had once wielded to teach humankind respect, but the ravages of their illness looked grotesque enough.
  17. stipple
    produce a mottled effect
    I scanned the landscape. In one direction, small hills furry with grass rippled away from the forest. In the other, boulders stippled the ground up until what looked like a steep drop-off.
  18. throng
    a large gathering of people
    Another group of ghosts swirling below us made it easy to spot the Pearl. In the center of the throng, my hawk’s vision picked out a glow coming from a shining sphere.
  19. tumult
    a state of commotion and noise and confusion
    Unlike the death-white spirits, the orb was a tumult of colors, like a living ocean—from jade-green to turquoise, from aquamarine to deep blue, with foam-pale flickers in all the colors of the rainbow.
  20. purchase
    a means of exerting influence or gaining advantage
    The ghosts shrieked in fury. I could feel them battering against the boundaries of my mind. But they could find no purchase.
  21. promontory
    a natural elevation
    An old starship touched down on the promontory formed by the cliff.
  22. beseech
    ask for or request earnestly
    In the vision, ghosts gathered around Hae. There was no sound, but they were clearly beseeching her. What wasn’t clear was what they wanted.
  23. precipice
    a very steep cliff
    The ghosts were swirling around me, but they hadn’t called down any lightning strikes, or driven me off a precipice, or frozen the blood in my veins.
  24. ominously
    in a manner suggesting something bad will happen
    The wind picked up again and Eui floated toward me ominously, interpreting my lack of response as an admission of guilt.
  25. ploy
    a maneuver in a game, conversation, or situation
    “The two cadets were never in any danger,” Captain Hwan said, confirming my guess. “It was a ploy to win your confidence so you’d lead them—and me—to the Dragon Pearl.”
  26. dupe
    fool or hoax
    The truth stung, even though I knew I didn’t have any right to feel hurt. After all, I’d tried to dupe them, too, and I hadn’t admitted my true identity until the captain unmasked me.
  27. reverberate
    have a long or continuing effect
    I shuddered as her words reverberated through me. If I broke such an oath, I could expect my own ghost to wander until I found some way to redeem myself.
  28. maelstrom
    a powerful circular current of water
    Then the Pearl hummed as if in approval, its iridescent surface glowing so brightly I was dazzled. Its colors swirled in a maelstrom of glimmering blues, greens, and grays lit by starry gleams of silver.
  29. buffer
    protect from impact
    If not for the clear sweet billows of wind that buffered us, we would have been suffocated by the stinging dust and loose dirt.
  30. solemnly
    in a serious and dignified manner
    The ghosts shimmered, and I could sense their joy. Eui didn’t smile, exactly, but she made a point of meeting my eyes, and she bowed slowly and solemnly to me.
  31. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    Hwan, who’d been mesmerized by the Pearl’s terraforming, now snapped back to reality.
  32. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    He careened several steps before regaining his balance, only to lose it again.
  33. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    Automatically, I froze as his scent reached me. He’d always been a predator, but now he was shifting into his true form, that of an immense white tiger. I stood transfixed by the sharp fangs revealed when he roared.
  34. overture
    a tentative suggestion to elicit the reactions of others
    I wasn’t about to turn down this overture. Sujin didn’t exactly sound friendly, but the offer counted for something.
  35. delicacy
    something considered choice to eat
    “You like dried squid?” I asked Jun, my nose wrinkling. I’d only tried it once, a long time ago, and hadn’t enjoyed the tough, chewy texture. Mom and the aunties, who considered it a delicacy, had been happy to claim my share.
  36. blatantly
    in a completely obvious manner
    The two of us played a full game, which didn’t last long, because Haneul surrounded and isolated my stones no matter where I placed them. Sujin and Jun took turns giving me blatantly terrible strategy advice.
  37. acquiesce
    agree or express agreement
    “You may hold the Pearl—for now,” Seok acquiesced.
  38. chafe
    tear or wear off the skin or make sore by abrading
    I spent the ride contemplating the red dust and chafing at the straps of my face mask.
  39. cursory
    hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
    I’d made a cursory check of my clothes and shoes, but I still hadn’t located the bug that I knew he’d planted on me.
  40. pragmatism
    the attribute of accepting the facts of life
    Was it revenge for my knocking him out, or simple pragmatism?
Created on Wed Dec 04 15:35:28 EST 2019 (updated Mon Dec 16 14:34:57 EST 2019)

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