Clarice the Brave: List 4

by Lisa McMann
Clarice and Charles Sebastian are sister and brother mice who are fearfully huddling together on a ship, until a mutiny separates them and forces them to fight to survive.

This list covers "From Afar"–"Left Behind."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. seasoned
    rendered competent through trial and experience
    That chicken had taken a chunk right out of it. But it made him feel—what was the word he wanted—seasoned. Battle-scarred.
  2. grudgingly
    in a reluctant manner
    She narrowed her eyes and peered closer, grudgingly impressed.
  3. stifle
    conceal or hide
    She stifled a sob with a snort, as if angry it escaped.
  4. swelter
    suffer from intense heat
    You’ve got me sweltering in the weather all day.
  5. divine
    locate as if by supernatural means
    The torn pieces of his ear tremored a warning like a divining rod, but he’d seen how Benjelloun was.
  6. atoll
    an island consisting of a coral reef surrounding a lagoon
    They would stay here, in the atolls, until the next friendly ship made a stop and offered to take them back to the mainland.
  7. elements
    violent or severe weather
    We stayed in our places, unmoving, not speaking, to preserve our inner moisture. It’s an instinct with animals. Somehow we know how to survive the harshest elements.
  8. lucid
    capable of thinking in a clear and consistent manner
    Another day, and everyone hovered just above death. Even the captain had gone silent. Lucía and the woman who’d stayed with the launch at the island were the most lucid and did what they could for the others to make them comfortable.
  9. gaunt
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    Lucía, her lips cracked and bleeding, her face gaunt, sat up and looked out.
  10. fervor
    the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
    She suddenly had an itch in between her paw pads and attacked it with fervor.
  11. travesty
    a distorted, debased, or absurd imitation of something
    As much as Charles Sebastian despised humans, he was starting to think the young one had promise, and he felt like this was a travesty.
  12. crestfallen
    brought low in spirit
    Benjelloun called to the cats, begging them to come to her so she could pet them, but they ignored her. The girl watched them go, crestfallen.
  13. boisterous
    noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline
    In contrast to the boisterous sailors, Benjelloun grew somber.
  14. ludicrous
    inviting ridicule
    It had never occurred to him before to help a human—the thought was ludicrous. Enemy number one and all that.
  15. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    Benjelloun averted her eyes and turned her sullen gaze to the deck while the never-ending scolding of the chickens grew louder.
  16. wane
    grow smaller
    Her words had sharp points that portrayed her waning tolerance.
  17. traumatize
    inflict an emotional wound or shock upon
    It was a rogue wave. She was out searching for fresh water...so. Charles Sebastian was with her. He was quite traumatized, as I’m sure you can imagine.
  18. tactful
    having a sense of what is considerate in dealing with others
    “Do you really think you’ll find him again?” she asked after a while. I could tell by her tone how much she doubted it, but she was at least trying to be tactful.
  19. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    “I really hope he’s alive,” I said wistfully.
  20. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    I watched her, lazily intrigued by her long limbs and the way they moved.
  21. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    The cat sighed, exasperated by my probing, and blurted out, “Marigold is my sister. I hate her.”
  22. assuage
    provide physical relief, as from pain
    Unfortunately, that still didn’t assuage my fears about what would happen when the salted cod ran out.
  23. lavish
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    She was licking her chops, most likely imagining the food she’d find at this lavish place, and suddenly, lacking our intimate situation in the bow and forced into this new, different element, I felt like I didn’t really know her at all.
  24. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    The sailors around me gathered their meager belongings and tried to stand up.
  25. discerning
    having or revealing keen insight and good judgment
    Special Lady’s discerning eye was contemplating everyone’s moves in an attempt to make her own.
  26. dismay
    the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
    When Special Lady continued on after the captain, my breath caught in dismay. A great sense of abandonment overcame me.
  27. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    I crouched, poised for the right moment to jump, but the moment never came.
  28. scrounge
    collect or look around for
    I was stranded indefinitely, only this time I had no food to scrounge for.
  29. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    I was mesmerized by her yellow glare as she came for me, and I wondered if this was what it had been like for Olivia. Had she become frozen, too?
  30. phenomenon
    any state or process known through the senses
    “It’s definitely an intriguing phenomenon. You’ve been on a moving vessel your whole life, and you got used to the constant movement. Now that you’re on land and not moving for the first time, your body senses the change, and you feel like you are moving.”
  31. discourse
    an extended communication dealing with some particular topic
    I so enjoyed her level of discourse.
  32. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    Special Lady was well fed and growing plump again after our ordeal, so I didn’t feel like I was in danger.
  33. frigate
    a warship larger than a destroyer and smaller than a cruiser
    The frigate we were about to board was like an entire city to a mouse.
  34. oppressive
    weighing heavily on the senses or spirit
    It was so much bigger than the launch that it felt overwhelming. So huge it weighed on me. Oppressive.
  35. mystified
    totally perplexed and mixed up
    She was fast, but I was faster—perhaps that was planned as well, but I was still mystified.
  36. implication
    a relation by virtue of involvement or close connection
    And as I began to piece together what had just happened and all the implications that came with it, I had even more questions.
  37. concoct
    devise or invent
    “I was wary of that. They sounded like they’d concocted a somewhat complicated plan, didn’t they?”
  38. devious
    characterized by insincerity or deceit
    “Something’s fishy. They exchanged devious looks.”
  39. obscure
    difficult to find
    “But what’s this about a map? No one’s been able to locate Île Obscure again since it was discovered.”
  40. accomplice
    a person who joins with another in carrying out some plan
    I didn’t know the word I wanted, but I was horrified to learn of my part in all of this.
    “Accomplices,” said the cat with a sly grin.
Created on Tue Oct 18 21:07:33 EDT 2022 (updated Mon Sep 11 18:25:16 EDT 2023)

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