The Sea of Monsters: Chapters 5–8

by Rick Riordan
In this second book of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, the thirteen-year-old demigod must travel through dangerous waters to save his best friend and retrieve the magical cure for the poison destroying Camp Half-Blood.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–12, Chapters 13–16, Chapters 17–20

Here are links to our lists for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sire
    have offspring
    The “Big Three” pact had only been broken twice—once when Zeus sired Thalia, once when Poseidon sired me. Neither of us should’ve been born.
  2. rapture
    a state of elated bliss
    "Pony!” he cried in total rapture.
  3. invoke
    summon into action or bring into existence
    “Then we know who’s responsible. Kro—”
    “Do not invoke the titan lord’s name, Percy. Especially not here, not now.”
  4. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    You'd think getting chopped into a million pieces and cast into the darkest part of the Underworld would give him a subtle clue that nobody wanted him around.
  5. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Annabeth stifled a sob.
  6. refrain
    resist doing something
    And you, Perseus Jackson, I do expect you to refrain from causing any more trouble.
  7. brazier
    large metal container in which coal or charcoal is burned
    He picked up a fork and tried to stab a piece of brisket, but the plate skittered down the table and flew off the end, straight into the coals of the brazier.
  8. vigorously
    in an energetic manner
    Tantalus’s eyes narrowed. Behind him, the satyrs were shaking their heads vigorously, trying to warn me.
  9. modest
    marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself
    “Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!”
    Clarisse blinked, then blushed. “Um, I didn’t—”
    "And modest, too.”
  10. brethren
    people who are members of the same social or cultural group
    Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren.
  11. menial
    relating to unskilled work, especially domestic work
    The monster may be able to do some menial chores.
  12. holographic
    of or relating to 3D projected images
    All I could do was stare in disbelief at the brilliant green light that was about to change my life—a dazzling holographic image that had appeared above Tyson’s head.
  13. reverent
    feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
    When I’d been claimed by Poseidon last summer, everyone had reverently knelt.
  14. treacherous
    tending to betray
    Cyclopes are the most deceitful, treacherous—
  15. skittish
    unpredictably excitable, especially of horses
    The problem was that Tyson wanted to ride the "chicken ponies,” too, but the pegasi got skittish whenever he approached.
  16. dank
    unpleasantly cool and humid
    He was standing in a dank cave, lit only by torches.
  17. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    “Poly-who?”
    “The Cyclops!” Grover said, exasperated.
  18. empathy
    understanding and entering into another's feelings
    And look, Percy...um, I'm really sorry about this, but this empathy link...well, I had no choice. Our emotions are connected now.
  19. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    The Ares chariot was bloodred, and pulled by two grisly horse skeletons.
  20. palomino
    a horse of light tan or golden color
    Apollo’s chariot was trim and graceful and completely gold, pulled by two beautiful palominos.
  21. fleece
    the outer coat of an animal, especially sheep and yaks
    The point is, when Cadmus got to Colchis, he sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece in a tree in the middle of the kingdom.
  22. revitalize
    give new life or vigor to
    The Fleece brought prosperity to the land. Animals stopped getting sick. Plants grew better. Farmers had bumper crops. Plagues never visited. That’s why Jason wanted the Fleece. It can revitalize any land where it’s placed.
  23. manipulate
    control or influence skillfully, usually to one's advantage
    I remembered last summer, how Kronos had manipulated our quest. He’d almost fooled us into helping him start a war that would’ve destroyed Western Civilization.
  24. perilous
    fraught with danger
    “I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying.”
  25. resourceful
    adroit or imaginative
    The champion should be one who has earned the camp’s respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp.
  26. full-fledged
    having gained complete status
    Everybody else started taking sides—shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows. I thought it was going to turn into a full-fledged s’more war until Tantalus shouted, “Silence, you brats!”
  27. delicate
    easily broken or damaged or destroyed
    Beckendorf had given him some tools and spare parts, and now Tyson spent every night tinkering, though I wasn’t sure how his huge hands could handle such delicate little pieces.
  28. raspy
    unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound
    Hello, George and Martha, a raspy male voice said inside my head.
  29. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    “Never question a gift,” Hermes chided.
  30. intertwine
    spin, wind, or twist together
    “She’s always touching you,” Hermes said. “You’re intertwined. And if you don’t stop that, you’ll get knotted again!”
  31. potent
    having a strong physiological or chemical effect
    The grape ones are Furies, I think. Or are they hydras? At any rate, these are potent. Don't take one unless you really, really need it.
  32. melancholy
    characterized by or causing or expressing sadness
    He gave me a melancholy smile. “Perhaps because I hope that you can save many people on this quest, Percy. Not just your friend Grover.”
  33. whinny
    make a characteristic sound, of a horse
    "Hippocampi!” Annabeth said. "They're beautiful.”
    The nearest one whinnied in appreciation and nuzzled Annabeth.
  34. hull
    the frame or body of a ship
    As we got closer to the cruise ship, I realized just how huge it was. I felt as though I were looking up at a building in Manhattan. The white hull was at least ten stories tall, topped with another dozen levels of decks with brightly lit balconies and portholes.
  35. starboard
    located on the right side of a ship or aircraft
    They skimmed along the starboard side of the ship, riding easily through its huge wake, and pulled up next to a service ladder riveted to the side of the hull.
  36. promenade
    a public area set aside as a pedestrian walk
    I figured we’d have to sneak around, being stowaways and all, but after checking a few corridors and peering over a balcony into a huge central promenade lined with closed shops, I began to realize there was nobody to hide from.
  37. weariness
    temporary loss of strength and energy from hard work
    Finally my weariness got the best of me. I fell asleep...and had my worst dream yet.
  38. unravel
    become or cause to become undone by separating the fibers of
    Grover was sitting at the loom in his soiled wedding dress, madly unraveling the threads of the unfinished bridal train.
  39. cataract
    disease that involves the clouding of the lens of the eye
    He must’ve been at least fifteen feet tall, but the most startling thing was his enormous milky eye, scarred and webbed with cataracts. If he wasn’t completely blind, he had to be pretty darn close.
  40. falsetto
    artificially high; above the normal voice range
    “Nothing!” Grover said in his falsetto voice. “Just weaving my bridal train, as you can see.”
Created on Tue Jul 05 15:59:15 EDT 2016 (updated Tue Aug 08 09:17:33 EDT 2023)

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