Touching Spirit Bear: Part One

by Ben Mikaelsen
After committing a violent crime, Cole Matthews is given a choice: jail time or isolation on a remote Alaskan island. Clinging to life after a savage bear attack, Cole wonders if he still has a chance at redemption.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two
40 words 13168 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. skiff
    a small boat propelled by oars or by sails or by a motor
    Cole Matthews knelt defiantly in the bow of the aluminum skiff as he faced forward into a cold September wind.
  2. chafe
    become or make sore by or as if by rubbing
    His blue jeans, heavy wool shirt, and rain jacket chafed his skin, but it didn’t matter.
  3. feign
    give a false appearance of
    Cole feigned surprise as if he had made a horrible mistake, then twisted at the handcuffs again.
  4. deposition
    a pretrial interrogation of a witness
    Even Nathaniel Blackwood quit stopping by except when hearings and depositions required his presence.
  5. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    This far away, they couldn’t see the extended middle finger he brandished at them.
  6. meek
    evidencing little spirit or courage
    Cole wanted to say, “’Cause if you don’t, I’ll knock your fat heads off.” Instead, he meekly said, “You shouldn’t,” keeping his face as serious as he could.
  7. sullenly
    in a manner showing a brooding ill humor
    Cole purposely isolated himself in his room, sitting sullenly.
  8. barrage
    the rapid and continuous delivery of communication
    Spewing a barrage of venomous curses, he took the blanket Garvey had given him and flung it to the ground.
  9. ricochet
    spring back; spring away from an impact
    Cursing, he swept his arm across the table and sent the baking ingredients flying. Eggs smashed. Wrappings broke open. Plastic containers ricocheted off the wall.
  10. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    “My parents—that’s a joke,” Cole scoffed. “They don’t care if I’m dead or alive.”
  11. arraignment
    the act of calling someone before a court to be formally charged and to enter a plea
    The last time Cole had seen him, the judge had been wearing a black robe at the arraignment hearing in juvenile court when Cole first pleaded guilty.
  12. flail
    thrash about
    He had to make it back to land. Any land. Frantically he flailed at the water.
  13. fitful
    occurring in spells and often abruptly
    Sometime during the night, Cole drifted into a fitful sleep.
  14. kindling
    material for starting a fire
    Each word spoken in the Circle was like kindling added to his smoldering anger.
  15. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    Steady blowing soon coaxed a weak flame to life.
  16. welt
    a raised mark on the skin
    After being strapped until his skin was raw with welts, he watched in horror as his dad paused and turned the belt around with his big knuckled hands.
  17. roil
    be agitated
    For two hours his mind roiled with turbulent thoughts before he fell into a restless, tortured sleep.
  18. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    He rushed toward the gulls, hollering and swinging his arms until the strutting scavengers abandoned their find.
  19. rivulet
    a small stream
    Raindrops beaded on its white bushy hair and dripped off in miniature rivulets.
  20. concede
    give over
    The bear waited calmly as if part of the landscape, like a tree or a boulder, not conceding one inch of space.
  21. gluttonous
    given to excess in consumption of especially food or drink
    The gluttonous seagulls had brazenly eaten chunks torn from his chest and were now on to something else—a herring or a clam.
  22. maul
    injure badly
    He was trapped on a godforsaken island, alone, and mauled within an inch of his life by a white monster bear.
  23. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    He returned to shallow tentative breaths, drawing air past his lips as if he were sipping from a straw.
  24. haphazard
    without care; in a slapdash manner
    Watching the bird made Cole curse every second of his miserable and haphazard life.
  25. fend
    try to manage without help
    If he were the mother bird, he would just leave the babies to fend for themselves.
  26. stuporous
    stunned or confused and slow to react
    Exhaustion finally dragged him into a stuporous sleep.
  27. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    The rain and wind paused, and an acrid smell like burning wire filled the air.
  28. doggedly
    with obstinate determination
    He felt himself slipping into darkness and blinked hard, doggedly clinging to life, willing himself to not let go.
  29. strew
    spread by scattering
    He couldn’t stop thinking about the tiny birds strewn in the grass.
  30. squander
    spend thoughtlessly; throw away
    All of his life he had squandered his choices, wallowing in revenge and self-pity, keeping himself down.
  31. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Panicking, Cole stifled a cough—he didn’t dare cough.
  32. grueling
    characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion
    A long grueling minute passed before the pain eased and he dared allow a shallow breath to seep past his lips.
  33. teem
    move in large numbers
    The ground teemed with insects, and he began putting ants, beetles, spiders, and even a fuzzy caterpillar into his mouth.
  34. skittish
    unpredictably excitable, especially of horses
    Cole lay motionless as the skittish mouse ventured across his forearm and sniffed at his wrist, then inched onto his upturned palm.
  35. quarry
    animal hunted or caught for food
    This mouse was his quarry, like a gull catching a herring or an owl catching a rabbit.
  36. forage
    collect or look around for, as food
    The animals weren’t the only ones who could forage to survive.
  37. dredge
    search the bottom of a body of water for something valuable
    His mouth held little moisture, but deliberately he dredged up spit from deep in his throat, all the while meeting the bear’s intense gaze with one of his own.
  38. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    Still eyeing Cole, the Spirit Bear casually licked up the spit, raised its head, eyes mild and curious, then turned and sauntered away.
  39. loom
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    Looming over Cole, its breath warm and musty, towered the Spirit Bear.
  40. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    Instead of his normal detached faraway look, Edwin’s eyebrows furrowed with concern.
Created on Thu Dec 03 17:05:32 EST 2015 (updated Tue May 10 10:05:32 EDT 2022)

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.