"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut

Sandy (United States of America)
In a future world where equality of outcome has become the law, George and Hazel Bergeron's gifted 14-year-old son, Harrison, has been imprisoned as a threat to the state.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. unceasing
    continuous and uninterrupted in time
    All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.
  2. doozy
    someone or something excellent of its kind
    "Boy!" said Hazel, "that was a doozy, wasn't it?"
  3. impediment
    something immaterial that interferes with action or progress
    It wasn't clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment.
  4. luminous
    softly bright or radiant
    Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody.
  5. grackle
    a long-tailed blackbird with iridescent black feathers
    "Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen," she said in a grackle squawk, "has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous."
  6. calibrate
    make fine adjustments for optimal measuring
    The picture showed the full length of Harrison against a background calibrated in feet and inches.
  7. hindrance
    any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome
    He had outgrown hindrances faster than the H-G men could think them up.
  8. consternation
    sudden shock or dismay that causes confusion
    Screams and barking cries of consternation came from the television set.
  9. cower
    crouch or curl up
    Ballerinas, technicians, musicians, and announcers cowered on their knees before him, expecting to die.
  10. delicacy
    lightness in movement or manner
    Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her physical handicaps with marvelous delicacy.
  11. synchronize
    adjust in time or manner to make the same
    Harrison and his Empress merely listened to the music for a while—listened gravely, as though synchronizing their heartbeats with it.
  12. flounce
    walk in an emphatic or exaggerated way
    They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun.
  13. caper
    jump about playfully
    They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun.
  14. gambol
    play or run boisterously
    They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun.
  15. neutralize
    make ineffective by counterbalancing the effect of
    And then, neutralizing gravity with love and pure will, they remained suspended in the air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each other for a long, long time.
Created on Tue Apr 07 17:42:16 EDT 2026 (updated Tue Apr 28 13:56:18 EDT 2026)

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