Catch-22: Chapters 8–14

by Joseph Heller
In this dark comedy, a World War II bombardier struggles to keep his sanity while following the increasingly dangerous orders of his commanders.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–14, Chapters 15–21, Chapters 22–28, Chapters 29–35, Chapters 36–42
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. deprecate
    express strong disapproval of; deplore
    Total strangers saw fit to deprecate him, with the result that he was stricken early with a guilty fear of people and an obsequious impulse to apologize to society for the fact that he was not Henry Fonda.
  2. demean
    reduce in worth or character, usually verbally
    To demean him personally would be to demean all other officers of equal or lesser rank.
  3. degradation
    a low or downcast state
    Major Major had bought the dark glasses and false mustache in Rome in a final, futile attempt to save himself from the swampy degradation into which he was steadily sinking.
  4. humiliation
    depriving one of self-esteem
    First there had been the awful humiliation of the Great Loyalty Oath Crusade, when not one of the thirty or forty people circulating competitive loyalty oaths would even allow him to sign.
  5. disreputable
    lacking respectability in character, behavior or appearance
    There was something inherently disreputable about Yossarian, always carrying on so disgracefully about that dead man in his tent who wasn’t even there and then taking off all his clothes after the Avignon mission and going around without them right up to the day General Dreedle stepped up to pin a medal on him for his heroism over Ferrara and found him standing in formation stark naked.
  6. status
    the relative position or standing of things or persons
    “I had status — you know what I mean? — and I used to travel in the best circles.”
  7. indomitable
    impossible to subdue
    Glancing neither left nor right, he strode indomitably up to the steam counter...
  8. resonant
    serving to evoke powerful memories, images, or emotions
    ...in a clear, full-bodied voice that was gruff with age and resonant with ardent eminence and authority, said: “Gimme eat.”
  9. eminence
    high status importance owing to marked superiority
    ...in a clear, full-bodied voice that was gruff with age and resonant with ardent eminence and authority, said: “Gimme eat.”
  10. infuse
    fill, as with a certain quality
    The heady taste of success had infused him further with morality and fired him with ambition for loftier attainments.
  11. avid
    ardently or excessively desirous
    There was a huge, giddy crowd of men who were avid for any diversion...
  12. ignominiously
    in a dishonorable manner or to a dishonorable degree
    ...the cat turned chicken the moment Yossarian released him and fled from Hungry Joe ignominiously like a yellow dog.
  13. repudiation
    rejecting or disowning or disclaiming as invalid
    Colonel Cathcart was stung by the blunt rebuke and skulked guiltily about his room in smarting repudiation.
  14. infallible
    incapable of failure or error
    “Nobody is infallible,” Colonel Cathcart said sharply, and then continued vaguely, with an afterthought: “Nobody is indispensable, either.”
  15. indispensable
    absolutely necessary
    “Nobody is infallible,” Colonel Cathcart said sharply, and then continued vaguely, with an afterthought: “Nobody is indispensable, either.”
Created on Sun Sep 04 14:18:58 EDT 2016 (updated Tue Jul 29 11:20:02 EDT 2025)

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