SKIP TO CONTENT

White Fang Part III, Chapter 4

15 words 2 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Full list of words from this list:

  1. perturb
    disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried
    So some scientists were perturbed last month to learn that the country’s defence ministry has started a basic-research fund.
    (v) - agitate, derange, upset, unsettle
  2. perilous
    fraught with danger
    The migrants brave perilous journeys to escape religious and ethnic persecution and poverty.
    (adj) - dangerous, precarious, hazardous
  3. impress
    produce or try to produce a vivid mental image of
    The king impressed his seal on the melted wax.
    (v) - stamp, imprint
  4. impending
    close in time; about to occur
    The shadows of Cromwell’s impending death have already gathered around him, and those melancholy eyes see nothing but doom.
    (adj) - pending, about to happen
  5. forlorn
    marked by or showing hopelessness
    But I’ve never been so forlorn about departing a place as I was the Post Hotel.
    (adj) - desolate, dreary, miserable
  6. endeavor
    attempt by employing effort
    Until the schools can be strengthened, a more expensive and time-consuming endeavor, “this will give us breathing room,” Dr. Tucker said.
    (n) - attempt, effort
  7. precipitous
    extremely steep
    A precipitous decline in honeybee populations raised public awareness of the importance of the bees and other pollinators in maintaining the nation’s food production.
    (adj) - abrupt, falling sharply
  8. blunder
    make one's way clumsily or blindly
    But it was no good blundering on through the dark either.
    (v) - make mistake, move or act blindly, flounder
  9. daunt
    cause to lose courage
    These can be daunting questions to answer depending on the type of new product and risks involved.
    (v) - to overcome with fear, intimidate, frighten, alarm
  10. obscure
    not clearly understood or expressed
    Low clouds obscured the tops of Mount Pumori and Mount Lingtren, two mountains connected by a frozen ridge more than a mile away.
    (adj) - vague, ambiguous, hard to percieve
  11. traverse
    journey across or pass over
    I watched as he traversed a field of orange grass, passing cyan ferns and indigo shrubs, down to a lagoon inhabited by dinosaurs and antelope.
    (v) - roam, pass through
  12. enmity
    a state of deep-seated ill-will
    Much of the tension between the two appears to be wrapped up in personal enmity.
    (n) - a feeling of hostility, hatred, animosity
  13. abjection
    a low or downcast state
    “Please,” I pleaded, not needing to feign abjection.
    abjectness
    (n) - depression, dispiritedness, despair
  14. abasement
    depriving one of self-esteem
    Not a trace of humiliation or abasement was to be seen in the Duke's countenance or demeanour.
    (n) - disgrace, degradation, dishonour
  15. gregarious
    temperamentally seeking and enjoying the company of others
    With his gregarious, laddish ways he proved popular among clients and fellow traders on the metals exchange.
    (adj) - friendly, affable, sociable
Created on Mon May 11 06:50:11 EDT 2015 (updated Mon May 11 09:49:53 EDT 2015)

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.