The Mysterious Benedict Society: The Sender and the Messages–Traps and Nonsense

by Trenton Lee Stewart
After taking a strange exam, four children are admitted to a secret society and tasked with infiltrating the sinister Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened.

Here are links to our lists for the novel:
Pencils, Erasers, and Disqualification–The Trouble with Children
The Sender and the Messages–Traps and Nonsense
Beware the Gemini–Everything as It Should Be
Of Families Lost and Found–The Mouse in the Culvert
Sacrifices, Narrow Escapes, and Something Like a Plan–For Every Exit, an Entrance
40 words 471 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. apprise
    inform somebody of something
    “I’ve been expecting you. I imagine you wish to call Miss Perumal and apprise her of your situation.”
  2. steadfast
    marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
    “Polite but steadfast, and with appropriate consideration. Now, I’m afraid you can’t make your telephone call this time, either, but it has nothing to do with being tested..."
  3. spry
    moving quickly and lightly
    She begs you not to worry, it’s only a mild reaction and the doctors assure her that her mother will be spry as a robin come morning. But she wanted you to know how proud she is of you—proud but not surprised, she said—and sends you her best regards.
  4. quaver
    a tremulous sound
    “I am sorry, Reynie,” said Mr. Benedict with a quaver in his voice.
  5. obfuscate
    make obscure or unclear
    At first only a few random words were clear enough to be understood: “Market...too free to be...obfuscate...”
  6. opaque
    not clearly understood or expressed
    “What does ‘obfuscate’ mean?” asked Constance.
    Sticky, as if someone had pulled a string in his back, promptly answered, “To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive, or to otherwise render indistinct.”
  7. render
    cause to become
    “What does ‘obfuscate’ mean?” asked Constance.
    Sticky, as if someone had pulled a string in his back, promptly answered, “To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive, or to otherwise render indistinct.”
  8. testy
    easily irritated or annoyed
    “Number Two is a bit testy about this. She was often ignored as a child.”
  9. preside
    act as executive officer
    In fact I was once a trusted advisor to certain high officials, many of whom presided over government agencies.
  10. somberly
    in a serious and solemn manner
    “I am sorry to say it, Constance,” Mr. Benedict said somberly, “but I did not exaggerate in the least. You are all in danger even as we speak.”
  11. disarming
    capable of allaying hostility
    In fact, their bright smiles—along with their elegant appearance—were for an instant so surprising and disarming that Reynie almost relaxed.
  12. addle
    mix up or confuse
    The men in the maze had given Constance quite a shock (an actual shock, delivered by way of wires that flicked like snakes’ tongues from their watches, she’d said), and she remained somewhat addled.
  13. uncanny
    surpassing the ordinary or normal
    “He has subtler methods, too. But some children, yes, he captures. His scouts have an uncanny nose for vulnerable children. Don’t worry, they’ve been deposited far from here and will be unconscious for quite some time, thanks to Milligan.”
  14. indignant
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    Reynie was indignant. “So that’s why he wouldn’t send me to an advanced school! He wanted me on the academy’s rolls—just out of greed!”
  15. crestfallen
    brought low in spirit
    Kate looked crestfallen. The other children looked relieved.
  16. mortification
    strong feelings of embarrassment
    To his great astonishment and mortification, Sticky saw his parents begin trying less and less to find him, instead devoting their time and energy toward the proper disposal of their newfound riches.
  17. hamper
    prevent the progress or free movement of
    Two men in suits were leading me along a stone passage. They moved slowly to accommodate my pace, which was hampered by my chain-cuffed ankles.
  18. turbine
    an engine that causes a bladed rotor to rotate
    The Institute’s tidal turbines were considered the best in the entire world; they were also capable of producing enough energy to power a hundred Institutes, let alone one.
  19. extravagant
    recklessly wasteful
    Why, then, had Curtain made his turbines so extravagant if he didn’t intend to use that extra power?
  20. intermittently
    in a manner of stopping and starting at irregular intervals
    And why did he send out his messages intermittently when he could be broadcasting around the clock?
  21. undertaking
    any piece of work that is attempted
    “The voices aren’t the point. They are the side effect, the unintended consequence of a dark and ambitious undertaking. The Sender has spent all these years preparing people for something—preparing them for the thing to come.”
  22. cleave
    stick or hold together and resist separation
    For us, and for all the people like us—all those whose minds cleave so strongly to the truth—I am convinced it will be...most disagreeable.
  23. speculation
    a hypothesis that has been formed by conjecturing
    It would be such a relief to think his predictions about the thing to come were nothing more than wild speculation.
  24. commiseration
    feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
    “Good, good. Thank you for your commiserations, my friend, and now you’d best be off, back to your confounded computer. I’m sorry to work you so.”
  25. hinder
    prevent the progress or accomplishment of
    “He’s an extraordinary child, isn’t he?” said Number Two, her speech somewhat hindered by a mouthful of biscuit.
  26. stevedore
    a laborer who loads and unloads ships at a waterfront
    Stonetown Harbor had always been a busy port: ships steaming in and weighing anchor at all hours, countless stevedores and sailors as busy as ants, and the docks piled high with cargo.
  27. shoal
    a stretch of shallow water
    Near the harbor’s southern slope, however, lay a channel of treacherous shoals, studded here and there with great boulders that still bore the scars of ancient shipwrecks, and as a consequence this southern part of the harbor was always quite still.
  28. apprehensive
    mentally upset over possible misfortune or danger
    Within minutes they would be admitted to the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, and they were apprehensive.
  29. crag
    a steep rugged rock or cliff
    From this distance the Institute blended so thoroughly into Nomansan’s stony crags it seemed a part of the island itself.
  30. jut
    extend out or project in space
    A flagpole jutted from the side of the Institute’s tower, supporting a long red banner that rippled in the breeze.
  31. bleary
    tired to the point of exhaustion
    All of the adults had seemed especially bleary, exhausted, and sad—except Milligan, who always looked that way—yet even so, there was a flicker of excitement, indeed of hope, in every eye.
  32. feign
    make believe with the intent to deceive
    Sticky was scrubbing his glasses so hard they squeaked, and Constance had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, unconvincingly feigning sleep.
  33. diminutive
    very small
    (Rhonda had packed changes of clothes for each of them, including outfits she had sewn overnight to fit Constance’s diminutive size.)
  34. founder
    a person who establishes some institution
    “I keep forgetting how ignorant you kids are when you get here. Mr. Curtain’s my boss. He’s the founder of the Institute, the reason we’re all here. Got it?”
  35. obstinate
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    When they urged her to hurry, she obstinately refused.
  36. swath
    a path or strip (also figurative)
    Kate kept a hopeful eye out for anything unusual, but unfortunately there was nothing to see except boulders and sand and swaths of green vegetation.
  37. flourish
    grow vigorously
    “See that ground vine with the tiny leaves? It’s a rare plant called drapeweed that flourishes in thin soil.”
  38. arduous
    taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance
    Hauling Sticky and Constance to safety was an arduous, tricky business (and an unpleasant one, too, as Constance complained the whole time of Sticky’s elbow in her ribs).
  39. tendril
    slender structure by which some plants attach to an object
    All they could see was darkness and trailing tendrils, and even these were slowly being covered up.
  40. gangly
    tall, thin, and awkward
    A gangly Executive stood in front of about thirty attentive young students, leading them in a memorization exercise:
    "THE FREE MARKET MUST ALWAYS BE COMPLETELY FREE.
    THE FREE MARKET MUST BE CONTROLLED IN CERTAIN CASES.
    THE FREE MARKET MUST BE FREE ENOUGH TO CONTROL ITS FREEDOM IN CERTAIN CASES..."
Created on Mon Apr 09 19:30:15 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Apr 12 15:37:13 EDT 2018)

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