Vocabulary Words for The People of Sparks
mass -
Noun -A grouping of individual parts or elements that compose a unified body of
unspecified size or quantity; gathering; collection; crowd; group; throng
Verb - To gather or be gathered into a mass.
page 6 - This massing of people on the hilltop terrified him.
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expanse - A wide and open extent, as of surface, land, or sky; vastness; area; stretch
page 22 - In all directions, they saw nothing but endless expanses of grass.
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pungent - sharp biting or unpleasant especially in taste or smell; overpowering; bitter
page 37 - There was an odd pungent smell - like mushrooms or leaf mold, only sharper.
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adversity - A state of hardship or difficulty; misfortune; harsh conditions; hard times
page 46 - And just when we are starting to prosper at last, after so many years of . . well, adversity is a mild word for it.
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dank - Disagreeably damp or humid; chilly; moist; clammy
page 53 - No laboring in dank tunnels here; no running through dark streets to escape pursuit.
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deprivation - The condition of being deprived; poverty; hardship; denial; lack; loss; withholding of something needed; scarcity; deficit
page 55 - To do so would severely strain our resources and no doubt cause resentment and deprivation among our people.
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higgledy-piggledy
- In utter disorder or confusion; topsy-turvy; disordered; in a mess; jumbledpage 91 - She peeked in the medicine room once when the doctor was out and was amazed at the clutter in there-shelves and cupboards and tables piled with stuff in bottles and stuff in boxes and stuff in jars, all higgledy-piggledy.
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veer -
To turn aside from a course, direction, or purpose; change direction; swervepage 102 - Doon listened, but she saw his eyes veer back toward the group of boys.
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crimp - To bend or mold into shape; fold; tuck; gather
page 111 - "It's wonderful!" and Martha's mouth would crimp into a small, pleased smile.
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jitter -
page 114 - Doon felt a jitter in his stomach.
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exploits - An act or deed, especially a brilliant or heroic one; feat; daring acts
Page 144 - That night, Caspar talked a great deal about his exploits as a roamer.
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jovial - Marked by hearty friendliness and good cheer; jolly; good-humored; fun-loving; cheerful
page 147 - He spread them out and bent over them, and his jovial, boastful manner changed.
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dismay -
the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles; shock; consternation; sadness; depression; apprehensionpage 154 - Doon frowned. He thought of his father, looking with dismay last night at he scanty contents of his dinner parcel.
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embark -
To set out on a venture; proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangerspage 158 - It was a risky journey she was embarking on.
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quirk - A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy; oddity
page 174 - She smiled. It wasn't an unfriendly smile, but there was a quirk in it that seemed to say, What a situation.
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wrench - To twist or turn suddenly and forcibly; tug; jerk; yank
page 189 - She managed to wrench the whip out of his hand.
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gargantuan - Of immense size, volume, or capacity; gigantic; enormous; vast; massive; huge
page 199 - He stretched his arms as far apart as they would go. "It's a gargantuan task."
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myriad - Constituting a very large, indefinite number; innumerable; numerous; many
page 211 - "A city is bug," Lina said, remember the myriad streets and building of Ember.
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plague -
To pester or annoy persistently or incessantly; badger; bother; harass; troublepage 220 - It was the first time Doon had seen that Tick, too, suffered from the bites and scrapes that plagued the rest of them.
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injustice
pages 219, 220 - The unfairness of
it, the tremendous injustice, felt like a stone in his heart.
This is an injustice all of us feel.
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rampage -
violently angry and destructive behavior; run amok; go wild; go berserkpage 253 - After the rampage in the plaza, the three town leaders went up to the tower room for an urgent meeting.
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dire -
urgent; desperate; extreme; serious; severe; criticalpage 254 "That's right," said Ben. "We have it for situations of dire emergency. I think we have an emergency now."
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embroil -
To involve in argument, contention, or hostile actions; mixed up withpage 257 - People wept and shouted and moaned. In the lobby, Doon encountered a group of people embroiled in a huge argument.
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hubbub -
Loud noise; din; racket; uproar; clamor; tumultpage 272 - Her name rang out over the hubbub.
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disperse -
To drive off or scatter in different directions; go away; disband; break up; separatepage 292 - "This is your last chance," he shouted at the crowd. "Disperse! Or take the consequences."
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turbulent - Violently agitated or disturbed; tumultuous; rowdy; unruly; riotous; quarrelsome
page 298 - When she heard his voice, she tried to make her way toward him, but the crowd was so dense and turbulent that she couldn't get through.
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prosperity - The condition of being prosperous; having good fortune; successfulness; affluence; riches; success
deprivation - (Review deprivation as being the opposite of prosperity)
page 319 - We were almost on the edge of prosperity. We feared that you would push us back into deprivation.
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