The Last Olympian: Chapters 8–12

by Rick Riordan
In this fifth book of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, the almost-sixteen-year-old demigod discovers that his odds of defeating Kronos, Typhon, and their armies are being lowered by a spy at Camp Half-Blood.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapters 18–23

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. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    Finally he got to his feet, eyeing my sword warily.
  2. prowess
    a superior skill learned by study and practice
    “It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak. Your prowess in combat will be beyond any mortal's, but your weaknesses, your failings will increase as well.”
  3. arrogance
    overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner
    What really killed me was my own arrogance.
  4. vulnerable
    capable of being wounded or hurt
    Imagine one spot of your body that will remain vulnerable. This is the point where your soul will anchor your body to the world. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your only hope. No man may be completely invulnerable.
  5. subside
    wear off or die down
    The color of my skin turned back to normal. The pain subsided.
  6. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    I was holding the collar of his royal robes in one fist, and the tip of my sword was poised right over his face.
  7. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
    A curtain of corrugated tin quivered as if something were behind it.
  8. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    Thalia brought up the rear, brandishing her shield like she was driving back whatever pursued them.
  9. entwine
    wind or twist together
    In the crook of his arm was a long staff entwined with two living serpents.
  10. diversion
    an attack that draws an enemy's attention away
    Zeus didn’t want any of us to leave the front line. But your mother kept pestering him nonstop, ‘It’s a trap, it's a diversion, blah, blah, blah.’
  11. insufferable
    extremely unpleasant or annoying
    Some mischief by that insufferable goddess of magic, Hecate, I’d wager, but you may have noticed they aren’t doing any damage.
  12. citadel
    a stronghold for shelter during a battle
    Besides, Aeolus, the King of the Winds, has sent his most powerful minions to guard the citadel. No one save the gods can approach Olympus from the air.
  13. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    “Um...what about that materializing/teleporting thing you guys do?”
  14. prod
    a pointed instrument used to provoke into motion
    George and Martha curled around the caduceus, which shimmered and changed into something that looked suspiciously like a high-voltage cattle prod.
  15. supernova
    a star that explodes and becomes luminous in the process
    Hermes glowed with the light of a supernova. Then he was gone.
  16. delta
    an object shaped like an equilateral triangle
    She rummaged in her pack and pulled out Daedalus’s laptop. The blue Delta symbol glowed on the top when she booted it up.
  17. psychedelic
    producing distorted sensory perceptions and feelings
    Argus rolled his eyes in disgust, which looked pretty psychedelic since it made his whole body swirl.
  18. idle
    not in action or at work
    He and the two harpy drivers swerved away, weaving around clusters of idle cars that littered the road.
  19. emblazon
    decorate, adorn, or inscribe with a design
    At the back of the lead boat, a purple banner emblazoned with a black scythe flapped in the night wind. I’d never seen that design before, but it wasn’t hard to figure out: the battle flag of Kronos.
  20. pillage
    steal goods; take as spoils
    And no stopping for looting or pillaging!
  21. straddle
    sit or stand astride of
    Finally we found an unconscious courier leaning against a brick wall, still straddling his red Vespa. We dragged him off the scooter and laid him on the sidewalk.
  22. aviary
    a building where birds are kept
    The only sounds were occasional cell phones ringing—like they were calling out to each other, as if New York had turned into a giant electronic aviary.
  23. brethren
    people who are members of the same social or cultural group
    He could activate one statue and it would start activating its brethren all over the city, until there was an army.
  24. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    I clambered down the shoreline and waded into the water.
  25. silt
    mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
    A cold current rippled through the bay, churning up plumes of garbage and silt.
  26. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    The bearded spirit of the Hudson scoffed. “You’re the expert on stupid, East.”
  27. barge
    a flatbottom boat for carrying heavy loads
    “Stay on your side of the island and mind your business.”
    “Or what? You’ll throw another garbage barge at me?”
  28. reverent
    feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
    I gave them each a sand-dollar half, which they held reverently.
  29. phalanx
    a body of troops in close array
    An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top.
  30. reinforcement
    additional support for an existing military operation
    “Glad you could join us,” he said. “Where are the other reinforcements?”
  31. rout
    cause to flee
    “You’ve already routed them. Pull back! We're overextended!”
  32. cavalry
    troops trained to fight on horseback
    Kronos’s cavalry swirled around us, slashing and yelling insults.
  33. leisurely
    not hurried or forced
    The Titan himself advanced leisurely, like he had all the time in the world. Being the lord of time, I guess he did.
  34. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    He struck the bridge with the butt of his scythe, and a wave of pure force blasted me backward. Cars went careening. Demigods—even Luke’s own men—were blown off the edge of the bridge.
  35. cudgel
    a club that is used as a weapon
    He was dressed for battle in an armored shirt made from tree bark and twist ties, with his wooden cudgel and his reed pipes hanging from his belt.
  36. skirmish
    a minor short-term fight
    He told me about the skirmishes they'd seen. Mostly they’d been covering uptown, where we didn’t have enough demigods. Hellhounds had appeared in all sorts of places, shadow-traveling inside our lines, and the dryads and satyrs had been fighting them off.
  37. muster
    call to duty, such as military service
    One of my Hunters spotted a huge man in golden armor mustering an army on the Jersey shore.
  38. deploy
    place troops or weapons in battle formation
    And he shifted his forces to our weakest points. As soon as we deployed, he changed tactics.
  39. decree
    issue an authoritative order
    Zeus has decreed that the children I currently have must be turned over to Camp Half-Blood for proper training, but I know what he means.
  40. ordain
    order by virtue of superior authority; decree
    “Zeus ordained the explosion to destroy the children,” she said, “because you defied his will. I had nothing to do with it. And I did warn you to hide them sooner.”
Created on Fri Apr 21 15:47:41 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Aug 21 09:43:41 EDT 2023)

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