Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 1–5

by J.K. Rowling
As he begins his third year at Hogwarts, Harry learns that the notorious Sirius Black has escaped from prison — and might be after Harry. Learn these words from the third novel in J.K. Rowling's wildly popular fantasy series.

Here are links to our other lists for the book: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–9, Chapters 10–13, Chapters 14–17, Chapters 18–22

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reliable
    worthy of being depended on
    Harry—this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there’s someone untrustworthy around, it’s supposed to light up and spin. Bill says it’s rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn’t reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night.
  2. stealthily
    in a manner marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    The book toppled off the bed with a loud clunk and shuffled rapidly across the room. Harry followed it stealthily. The book was hiding in the dark space under his desk.
  3. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    It struck Harry as ominous that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful, but he put Hagrid’s card up next to Ron’s and Hermione’s, grinning more broadly than ever.
  4. convict
    a person serving a sentence in a jail or prison
    He helped himself to a piece of toast and then looked up at the reporter on the television, who was halfway through a report on an escaped convict...
  5. filthy
    disgustingly dirty
    “No need to tell us he’s no good,” snorted Uncle Vernon, staring over the top of his newspaper at the prisoner. “Look at the state of him, the filthy layabout! Look at his hair!”
  6. gaunt
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    Compared to the man on the television, however, whose gaunt face was surrounded by a matted, elbow-length tangle, Harry felt very well groomed indeed.
  7. lunatic
    an insane person
    “You didn’t tell us where that maniac’s escaped from! What use is that? Lunatic could be coming up the street right now!”
  8. incurable
    incapable of being remedied
    “And thirdly,” said Uncle Vernon, his mean little eyes now slits in his great purple face, “we’ve told Marge you attend St. Brutus’s Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys.”
  9. thrash
    give a beating to
    “I won’t have this namby-pamby, wishy-washy nonsense about not hitting people who deserve it. A good thrashing is what’s needed in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. Have you been beaten often?”
  10. suspicious
    openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
    But Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were both looking at Harry suspiciously, so he decided he’d better skip dessert and escape from the table as soon as he could.
  11. sprint
    run very fast, usually for a short distance
    He sprinted upstairs and threw himself under the bed, wrenching up the loose floorboard, and grabbed the pillowcase full of his books and birthday presents.
  12. frantic
    excessively agitated; distraught with violent emotion
    He sat quite still, anger still surging through him, listening to the frantic thumping of his heart.
  13. restriction
    an act of limiting
    He had broken the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry so badly, he was surprised Ministry of Magic representatives weren’t swooping down on him where he sat.
  14. outcast
    a person who is rejected (from society or home)
    Then he could get the rest of his money out of his vault and...begin his life as an outcast.
  15. prospect
    belief about the future
    It was a horrible prospect, but he couldn’t sit on this wall forever, or he’d find himself trying to explain to Muggle police why he was out in the dead of night with a trunkful of spell-books and a broomstick.
  16. elude
    escape, either physically or mentally
    Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.
  17. crisis
    an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
    Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.
  18. massacre
    the savage and excessive killing of many people
    While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.
  19. terror
    an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
    Harry didn’t know anything about the wizard prison, though everyone he’d ever heard speak of it did so in the same fearful tone. Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, had spent two months there only last year. Harry wouldn’t soon forget the look of terror on Hagrid’s face when he had been told where he was going, and Hagrid was one of the bravest people Harry knew.
  20. fancy
    have a particular liking or desire for
    It took Harry several days to get used to his strange new freedom. Never before had he been able to get up whenever he wanted or eat whatever he fancied.
  21. expel
    force to leave or move out
    “Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested.”
  22. refuge
    a shelter from danger or hardship
    It took them nearly ten minutes to catch Scabbers, who had taken refuge under a wastepaper bin outside Quality Quidditch Supplies.
  23. grave
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    “No,” said Mr. Weasley, looking extremely grave. “They’ve pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far.”
  24. strain
    cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Ron,” said Mr. Weasley, who on closer inspection looked very strained. “Black’s not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It’s the Azkaban guards who’ll get him back, you mark my words.”
  25. deranged
    driven insane
    Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead.
  26. brood
    think moodily or anxiously about something
    If you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and he’s had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that.
  27. fond
    having or displaying warmth or affection
    “Dumbledore isn’t fond of the Azkaban guards,” said Mr. Weasley heavily. “Nor am I, if it comes to that...but when you’re dealing with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you’d rather avoid.”
  28. lenient
    characterized by tolerance and mercy
    So Sirius Black was after him. This explained everything. Fudge had been lenient with him because he was so relieved to find him alive.
  29. stricken
    affected by something overwhelming
    Harry lay listening to the muffled shouting next door and wondered why he didn’t feel more scared. Sirius Black had murdered thirteen people with one curse; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley obviously thought Harry would be panic-stricken if he knew the truth.
  30. remote
    very unlikely
    And then there were these Azkaban guards everyone kept talking about. They seemed to scare most people senseless, and if they were stationed all around the school, Black’s chances of getting inside seemed very remote.
  31. suspect
    imagine to be the case or true or probable
    Nobody would want Harry to leave the safety of the castle until Black was caught; in fact, Harry suspected his every move would be carefully watched until the danger had passed.
  32. nettled
    aroused to impatience or anger
    “I don’t go looking for trouble,” said Harry, nettled. “Trouble usually finds me.”
  33. foreboding
    a feeling of evil to come
    Harry fought his way over to her with a feeling of foreboding: Professor McGonagall had a way of making him feel he must have done something wrong.
  34. delicate
    easily hurt
    “Setting dementors around a school,” she muttered, pushing back Harry’s hair and feeling his forehead. “He won’t be the last one who collapses. Yes, he’s all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate—”
  35. plead
    appeal or request earnestly
    “It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors,” he said.
Created on Thu Aug 03 15:46:05 EDT 2017 (updated Tue Aug 01 14:40:28 EDT 2023)

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