The War of the Worlds: Book One: Chapters 11–17

by H.G. Wells
When Martians invade Earth, two English brothers, a philosopher and a medical student, struggle to get others and themselves to safety. Read the full text here.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Book One: Chapters 1–5, Book One: Chapters 6–10, Book One: Chapters 11–17, Book Two: Chapters 1–5, Book Two: Chapters 6–10
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. conflagration
    a very intense and uncontrolled fire
    Every now and then a haze of smoke from some nearer conflagration drove across the window and hid the Martian shapes.
  2. lethargy
    inactivity; showing an unusual lack of energy
    I heard a slight scraping at the fence, and rousing myself from the lethargy that had fallen upon me, I looked down and saw him dimly, clambering over the palings.
  3. scintillate
    emit or reflect light in a flickering manner
    A kind of arm carried a complicated metallic case, about which green flashes scintillated, and out of the funnel of this there smoked the Heat-Ray.
  4. expostulate
    reason with for the purpose of dissuasion
    We saw one shrivelled old fellow with a huge box and a score or more of flower pots containing orchids, angrily expostulating with the corporal who would leave them behind.
  5. copse
    a dense growth of trees, shrubs, or bushes
    Every minute a fresh gun came into position until, before twilight, every copse, every row of suburban villas on the hilly slopes about Kingston and Richmond, masked an expectant black muzzle.
  6. disseminate
    cause to become widely known
    The omnibuses, carriages, cyclists, and innumerable people walking in their best clothes seemed scarcely affected by the strange intelligence that the newsvendors were disseminating.
  7. exhort
    urge or force in an indicated direction
    No doubt, ran the report, the situation was of the strangest and gravest description, but the public was exhorted to avoid and discourage panic.
  8. apathy
    an absence of emotion or enthusiasm
    Certainly this news excited people intensely, whatever their previous apathy.
  9. ululation
    a long, loud, emotional howl or cry
    The overthrown Martian set up a prolonged ululation, and immediately a second glittering giant, answering him, appeared over the trees to the south.
  10. broach
    bring up a topic for discussion
    My brother thought that was hopeless, seeing the fury of the Londoners to crowd upon the trains, and broached his own idea of striking across Essex towards Harwich and thence escaping from the country altogether.
  11. paroxysm
    a sudden uncontrollable attack
    They heard his voice, and, looking back at him, saw one hand clutched in his hair and the other beating invisible things. His paroxysm of rage over, he went on his way without once looking back.
  12. reproach
    a mild rebuke or criticism
    They were all thirsty, weary, and footsore. And amid the various cries one heard disputes, reproaches, groans of weariness and fatigue; the voices of most of them were hoarse and weak.
  13. volition
    the act of making a choice
    Then he began to look out for a chance of edging to the right across the road. But once in the stream he seemed to lose volition, to become a part of that dusty rout.
  14. exorbitant
    greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
    There was food aboard, albeit at exorbitant prices, and the three of them contrived to eat a meal on one of the seats forward.
  15. leviathan
    the largest or most massive thing of its kind
    Keeping his footing on the heaving deck by clutching the bulwarks, my brother looked past this charging leviathan at the Martians again, and he saw the three of them now close together, and standing so far out to sea that their tripod supports were almost entirely submerged.
Created on Sun Feb 05 14:22:31 EST 2017 (updated Wed Aug 06 15:11:53 EDT 2025)

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