Lord of the Flies Vocabulary
DIRECTIONS: You have THREE tasks. 1) Look at the word in the CONTEXT of the sentence
given that comes from Lord of the Flies. Highlight any word(s) that help you understand the
meaning of the vocabulary word. 2) Look up the definition and write the BEST definition for the
word given the CONTEXT of the sentence. The first one is not necessarily the correct one.
3) Write a compound, compound-complex, or complex sentence using the vocabulary word in
the same context. NO SIMPLE SENTENCES. The sentence must show understanding of the
vocabulary word and be used in the correct form. Form may be changed as long as it doesn’t
change meaning.
Chapter 1
ENMITY - He trotted through the sand, enduring the sun's enmity, crossed the platform and found his
scattered clothes.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
DECOROUS - “No. A shell.’ ’ Suddenly Piggy was a-bubble with decorous excitement.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
HIATUS - There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk, and the blade
continued to flash at the end of a bony arm.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 2
EBULLIENCE - Then, with the martyred expression of a parent who has to keep up with the senseless
ebullience of the children, he picked up the conch, turned toward the forest, and began to pick his way over
the tumbled scar.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
TIRADE - Piggy lost his temper.
“I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach.
It wasn’t half cold down there in the night. But the first time Ralph says ’fire’ you goes howling and screaming
up this here mountain. Like a pack of kids!”
By now they were listening to the tirade.
“How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?”
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
VICISSITUDES - Jack stood there, streaming with sweat, streaked with brown earth, stained by all the
vicissitudes of a day’s hunting. Swearing, he turned off the trail and pushed his way through until the forest
opened a little and instead of bald trunks supporting a dark roof there were light grey trunks and crowns of
feathery palm.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
TACIT - Jack nodded, as much for the sake of agreeing as anything, and by tacit consent they left the shelter
and went toward the bathing pool.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 4
SINEWY - He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger. He spilt the water and
leapt to his feet, laughing excitedly. Beside the pool his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and
appalled them.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
MALEVOLENT - Piggy grabbed and put on the glasses. He looked malevolently at Jack.
“I got to have them specs. Now I only got one eye. Jus’ you wait—”
Jack made a move toward Piggy who scrambled away.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 5
INARTICULATE - “We could be sort of. . . ”
Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness. Inspiration came to him.
“What’s the dirtiest thing there is?
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 6
CLAMOR - The clamor broke out. Some of the boys wanted to go back to the beach. Some wanted to roll more
rocks. The sun was bright and danger had faded with the darkness.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 7
IMPERVIOUS - So they sat, the rocking, tapping, impervious Roger and Ralph, fuming; round them the close
sky was loaded with stars, save where the mountain punched up a hole of blackness.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 8
REBUKE - The success of his tiny joke overcame Ralph. His sniggers became un-controllable, his body jumped
and twitched.
Piggy rebuked him with dignity.
“I haven’t said anything all that funny.”
Ralph continued to snigger though his chest hurt. His twitchings ex-hausted him till he lay, breathless and
woebegone, waiting for the next spasm. During one of these pauses he was ambushed by sleep.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
DEMURE - “Hunting,” he said. He sized them up. Each of them wore the remains of a black cap and ages ago
they had stood in two demure rows and their voices had been the song of angels.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
FERVOR - “Forget the beast!”
If Jack was astonished by their fervor he did not show it.
“And another thing. We shan’t dream so much down here. This is near the end of the island.”
They agreed passionately out of the depths of their tormented private lives.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 9
CORPULENT - The flies had found the figure too. The life-like movement would scare them off for a moment
so that they made a dark cloud round the head. Then as the blue material of the parachute collapsed the
corpulent figure would bow forward, sighing, and the flies settle once more.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 10
COMPELLED - “But there isn’t a beast!”
Something he had not known was there rose in him and compelled him to make the point, loudly and again.
“But I tell you there isn’t a beast!”
The assembly was silent.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 11
LUMINOUS - Grey, feathery ashes scurried hither and thither at his breath but no spark shone among them.
The twins watched anxiously and Piggy sat expressionless behind the luminous wall of his myopia.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 12
ACRID - He rubbed his cheek along his forearm, smelling the acrid scent of salt and sweat and the staleness of
dirt.
DEFINITION IN CONTEXT: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SENTENCE USING WORD: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________