Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapters 1–9

by J.K. Rowling
In his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry must contend with terrifying dreams, malicious gossip, and a nasty new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He continues his struggle against Lord Voldemort in this fifth installment of J.K. Rowling's popular series.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–16, Chapters 17–24, Chapters 25–31, Chapters 32–38

Click here to explore our other lists in the Harry Potter universe.
40 words 1355 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. endear
    make attractive or lovable
    Harry Potter’s appearance did not endear him to the neighbors, who were the sort of people who thought scruffiness ought to be punishable by law, but as he had hidden himself behind a large hydrangea bush this evening he was quite invisible to passersby.
  2. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    He was not, perhaps, very comfortable lying on the hot, hard earth, but on the other hand, nobody was glaring at him, grinding their teeth so loudly that he could not hear the news, or shooting nasty questions at him, as had happened every time he had tried sitting down in the living room and watching television with his aunt and uncle.
  3. frustrated
    disappointingly unsuccessful
    In fact Harry thought his behavior had been very good considering how frustrated and angry he felt at being stuck in Privet Drive this long, reduced to hiding in flower beds in the hope of hearing something that might point to what Lord Voldemort was doing.
  4. injustice
    the practice of being unfair
    The injustice of it all welled up inside him so that he wanted to yell with fury. If it hadn’t been for him, nobody would even have known Voldemort was back!
  5. temptation
    the desire to do something that you know you should avoid
    How much longer was he supposed to endure Sirius telling him to sit tight and be a good boy; or resist the temptation to write to the stupid Daily Prophet and point out that Voldemort had returned?
  6. delinquent
    a young offender
    Harry preferred Little Whinging by night, when the curtained windows made patches of jewel-bright colors in the darkness and he ran no danger of hearing disapproving mutters about his “delinquent” appearance when he passed the householders.
  7. severity
    the degree of something undesirable as pain or weather
    The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand.
  8. tolerate
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    “I WILL NOT HAVE OWLS HERE, I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS, I TELL YOU!”
  9. breach
    an opening, especially a gap in a dike or fortification
    The arrival of the dementors in Little Whinging seemed to have caused a breach in the great, invisible wall that divided the relentlessly non-magical world of Privet Drive and the world beyond. Harry’s two lives had somehow become fused and everything had been turned upside down
  10. massive
    imposing in size or bulk or solidity
    “You heard me!” said Uncle Vernon, bending forward now, so that his massive purple face came closer to Harry’s, so that Harry actually felt flecks of spit hit his face. “Get going!
  11. lethargy
    weakness characterized by a lack of vitality or energy
    Harry was filled alternately with restless energy that made him unable to settle to anything, during which he paced his bedroom again, furious at the whole lot of them for leaving him to stew in this mess, and with a lethargy so complete that he could lie on his bed for an hour at a time, staring dazedly into space, aching with dread at the thought of the Ministry hearing.
  12. apathetic
    showing little or no emotion or animation
    On the fourth night after Hedwig’s departure Harry was lying in one of his apathetic phases, staring at the ceiling, his exhausted mind quite blank, when his uncle entered his bedroom.
  13. chameleon
    lizard of Africa and Madagascar able to change skin color
    Harry looked down at his body, or rather, what had been his body, for it didn’t look anything like his anymore. It was not invisible; it had simply taken on the exact color and texture of the kitchen unit behind him. He seemed to have become a human chameleon.
  14. insignificant
    of little importance or influence or power; of minor status
    For a few glorious moments, all his problems seemed to recede into nothing, insignificant in the vast, starry sky.
  15. resentful
    full of or marked by indignant ill will
    Every bitter and resentful thought that Harry had had in the past month was pouring out of him; his frustration at the lack of news, the hurt that they had all been together without him, his fury at being followed and not told about it: All the feelings he was half-ashamed of finally burst their boundaries.
  16. delude
    be dishonest with
    “Well, they’re writing about you as though you’re this deluded, attention-seeking person who thinks he’s a great tragic hero or something,” said Hermione, very fast, as though it would be less unpleasant for Harry to hear these facts quickly.
  17. recall
    summon to return
    “Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned,” said Sirius.
  18. convince
    make realize the truth or validity of something
    “Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard,” said Bill. “It’s proving tricky, though.”
  19. destabilize
    make unsturdy, insecure, or less able to function smoothly
    “Because accepting that Voldemort’s back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn’t had to cope with for nearly fourteen years,” said Sirius bitterly. “Fudge just can’t bring himself to face it. It’s so much more comfortable to convince himself Dumbledore’s lying to destabilize him.”
  20. discredit
    cause to be distrusted or disbelieved
    “They’re trying to discredit him,” said Lupin. “Didn’t you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he’d been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he’s getting old and losing his grip
  21. comprise
    be made of
    “The Order is comprised only of overage wizards,” he said. “Wizards who have left school,” he added, as Fred and George opened their mouths.
  22. austere
    of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor
    There were about fifty of them, all, as far as he could see, wearing plum-colored robes with an elaborately worked silver W on the left-hand side of the chest and all staring down their noses at him, some with very austere expressions, others looks of frank curiosity.
  23. fortified
    having something added to increase the strength
    A powerful emotion had risen in Harry’s chest at the sight of Dumbledore, a fortified, hopeful feeling rather like that which phoenix song gave him.
  24. impressive
    producing a strong effect
    “It’s not a question of how impressive the magic was,” said Fudge in a testy voice. “In fact, the more impressive the worse it is, I would have thought, given that the boy did it in plain view of a Muggle!”
  25. logical
    based on known statements or events or conditions
    “If it is true that the dementors are taking orders only from the Ministry of Magic, and it is also true that two dementors attacked Harry and his cousin a week ago, then it follows logically that somebody at the Ministry might have ordered the attacks,” said Dumbledore politely.
  26. figment
    a contrived or fantastic idea
    “I would remind everybody that the behavior of these dementors, if indeed they are not figments of this boy’s imagination, is not the subject of this hearing!” said Fudge.
  27. circumstance
    the set of facts that surround a situation or event
    Clause seven of the Decree states that magic may be used before Muggles in exceptional circumstances, and as those exceptional circumstances include situations that threaten the life of the wizard or witch himself, or witches, wizards, or Muggles present at the time of the—
  28. flagrant
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
    Have you ever bothered to tot up the number of cock-and-bull stories this boy has come out with, Dumbledore, while trying to cover up his flagrant misuse of magic out of school?
  29. presume
    take to be the case or to be true
    “And you very kindly did not press charges on that occasion, accepting, I presume, that even the best wizards cannot always control their emotions,” said Dumbledore calmly
  30. movement
    a group of people who try together to achieve certain goals
    The fact was that living at the headquarters of the anti-Voldemort movement was not nearly as interesting or exciting as Harry would have expected before he’d experienced it.
  31. hearty
    without reservation
    “Yeah, no problem,” said Harry, still in the horrible hearty voice that did not belong to him.
  32. arrogant
    having or showing feelings of unwarranted importance
    He could not lie to himself; if he had known the prefect badge was on its way, he would have expected it to come to him, not Ron. Did this make him as arrogant as Draco Malfoy? Did he think himself superior to everyone else? Did he really believe he was better than Ron?
  33. probe
    question or examine thoroughly and closely
    Was that true? Harry wondered, anxiously probing his own feelings.
  34. overwhelm
    overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
    And the same feeling of ill usage that had overwhelmed him on the night he had arrived rose again.
  35. indignantly
    in a manner showing anger at something unjust or wrong
    I’ve definitely done more, Harry thought indignantly. I’ve done more than either of them!
  36. sulk
    be in a huff and display one's displeasure
    Was he, Harry, Ron’s best friend in the world, going to sulk because he didn’t have a badge, laugh with the twins behind Ron’s back, ruin this for Ron when, for the first time, he had beaten Harry at something?
  37. estrangement
    separation resulting from hostility
    Giving the twins his Triwizard winnings had seemed a simple thing to do at the time, but what if it led to another family row and a Percy-like estrangement? Would Mrs. Weasley still feel that Harry was as good as her son if she found out he had made it possible for Fred and George to start a career she thought quite unsuitable?
  38. corpse
    the dead body of a human being
    The image of the boggart posing as the corpse of each member of Mrs. Weasley’s family in turn kept flashing before his eyes.
  39. recede
    become faint or more distant
    “Cut it out,” he said firmly, rubbing the scar as the pain receded again.
  40. extraordinary
    far more than usual or expected
    He felt older than he had ever felt in his life, and it seemed extraordinary to him that barely an hour ago he had been worried about a joke shop and who had gotten a prefect’s badge.
Created on Thu Aug 03 15:48:07 EDT 2017 (updated Tue Aug 01 14:43:45 EDT 2023)

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.