The Reader: Chapters 17-24

by Traci Chee
In an illiterate society, Sefia begins to discover the power of the written word as she attempts to rescue her kidnapped aunt—and learn the truth about her parents’ assassination. Practice these words from the first book in the Sea of Ink and Gold trilogy.

Here are links to our other lists for the novel: The Book-Chapter 8, Chapters 9-16, Chapters 17-24, Chapters 25-32, Chapters 33-40.
40 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. undaunted
    unshaken in purpose
    “We’re headed to Jahara, out of your hair,” Hatchet called, undaunted. “You can have the girl, if she’s alive.”
  2. fledgling
    young bird that has just become capable of flying
    Archer scooped her up. She was so light. Like a feather, or a fledgling.
  3. compulsive
    having obsessive habits or irresistible urges
    He swallowed compulsively, feeling the scar tissue around his own throat contract.
  4. livid
    discolored by coagulation of blood beneath the skin
    The livid marks on her neck had stolen her voice away, and now she lay unconscious in his arms.
  5. olfactory
    of or relating to the sense of smell
    He hadn’t had time for his usual cup of coffee with cream and three lumps of sugar, so to him the sun through the clouds was too bright, the sea breeze in the air too chilly, and the smell of fish too overpowering for his delicate olfactory senses.
  6. diligence
    a hard-working effort
    Though she was a rank beneath Lac, she was the perfect combination of diligence, talent, and drive.
  7. complement
    number needed to make up a whole force
    They were all new additions to the city’s naval complement, soon to be sent to sea and to war, but if the rumors were to be believed, she’d already made a name for herself in Epigloss, Epidram’s sister city to the west.
  8. gait
    a person's manner of walking
    One ignored Lac’s staring, but the other, who had a slightly crooked gait that made him hop-skip every few steps, met his gaze.
  9. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    Lac stared after him wistfully.
  10. innocuous
    not injurious to physical or mental health
    And he could tell that this, as innocuous as it seemed, was an important situation.
  11. feral
    wild and menacing
    Her grin was a devious, feral thing, like that of a coyote.
  12. melee
    a noisy riotous fight
    Hatchet himself was retreating as well, clutching a wounded arm, staggering back under their onslaught. He shot a venomous glance into the melee and dove into the stinking dock water.
  13. fodder
    soldiers regarded as expendable under artillery fire
    Was that why he needed boys? For his army? But the way Hatchet talked about Archer on the dock made it seem like he thought he was special. Not cannon fodder, but a leader.
  14. legion
    a large military unit
    Archer had already killed fifteen boys, but still Serakeen wanted more. Legions more.
  15. tousle
    disarrange or rumple; dishevel
    Sefia and Archer lay motionless at the bottom of the crate, curled up where they had fallen. His arm along hers. Her shallow breaths in his tousled hair.
  16. bulwark
    a protective structure of stone or concrete
    Tanin leaned against the bulwark of the ship as if she belonged there, propped up on her elbows with her hands crossed loosely at the wrists.
  17. malice
    the quality of threatening evil
    A few nearby dockworkers started toward her, but she glared at them with such malice that they raised their hands and backed away, shaking their heads.
  18. vise
    a holding device attached to a workbench
    Crying out, the Assassin dropped to one knee, her hand caught fast in Tanin’s viselike grip.
  19. foil
    a light slender flexible sword tipped by a button
    Her regular voice had returned, as supple and sharp as a fencing foil.
  20. obstinate
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    “Under ordinary circumstances, I even like your obstinate braying and your mulish devotion to the cause.”
  21. garb
    clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
    She was dressed in her black Assassin’s garb, with frost still clinging to her dark hair.
  22. hone
    refine or make more perfect or effective
    Lon’s powers of observation, honed during his time as a street performer, told him something was wrong.
  23. cadence
    the accent in a metrical foot of verse
    So he found the stars that formed the shape of the whale, inhaled the deep scent of earth that surrounded him, and began, his voice falling easily into the cadence of the old stories.
  24. forsake
    leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
    “Right. ‘I shall forsake all ties to kin and kingdom.’” Lon
    rattled off the words of their oath.
  25. imperceptibly
    in a manner that is difficult to discern
    Almost imperceptibly, the Second shook her head.
  26. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    She could feel his panic as palpable as sweat.
  27. fore
    front part of a vessel or aircraft
    Near the fore of the hold, Sefia picked the lock to the galley store and found potatoes, salted beef, carrots, hard cheeses wrapped in cloth, butter, suet, eggs, and in the corner, an unlit lantern with a cracked glass globe.
  28. flounder
    have difficulties; behave awkwardly
    Shaking her head, she blinked and tried again, but still she found herself floundering in the sea of hands, faces, glimpses of dark places.
  29. forage
    collect or look around for, as food
    The game disappeared, taking shelter from the rain, and the men began foraging for whatever they could find: blood-drop berries, hard-shelled nuts, flightless birds with white-and-gray wings.
  30. serrated
    notched like a saw with teeth pointing toward the apex
    Lightning lit the sky and flashed on the serrated sea, but Jigo wasn’t there, and the water revealed nothing.
  31. sow
    place seeds in or on the ground for future growth
    She used to spend long hours in the garden, weeding and sowing, pruning and picking, her neck arched elegantly as a bird’s, with her black hair coming loose around her face.
  32. prune
    cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of
    She used to spend long hours in the garden, weeding and sowing, pruning and picking, her neck arched elegantly as a bird’s, with her black hair coming loose around her face.
  33. dredge
    search the bottom of a body of water for something valuable
    The book always stirred her up inside, dredging her memories.
  34. feint
    any distracting or deceptive maneuver
    Among the stacks of crates and kegs, the movement of it was so fast it looked like a dance, a complicated quickstep of feints and counters, with the blades flickering like sparks between them.
  35. deftly
    in an agile manner
    The woman deftly stepped aside and cut him across the back of the arm.
  36. parry
    blocking a lunge with a circular motion of the sword
    Then they were engaged, knives flicking in and out, parrying, dodging, opening little slits on each other’s hands and arms and legs.
  37. disquiet
    a feeling of mild anxiety about possible developments
    But his inability to see it was not the cause of the deep disquiet within him.
  38. offal
    viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal
    The smaller pack, more worn than the other, dangled from Jules’s hand like offal.
  39. vigil
    a purposeful surveillance to guard or observe
    The curve of the wood grounded him to the ship, and his senses spread to the timbers and the sails and the running lines, down to the sick bay where Cooky stood vigil over Harison’s body, and up to the crow’s nest where Aly crouched, peering into the cold.
  40. sconce
    a decorative wall bracket for holding candles or lights
    Taking one of the lanterns from a nearby sconce, Reed approached the crate cautiously—or at least the mate thought he was approaching it.
Created on Fri Dec 29 16:42:15 EST 2017 (updated Mon Apr 08 14:43:52 EDT 2019)

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