The House of Hades: Chapters 33–48

by Rick Riordan
In the fourth book of the Heroes of Olympus series, the Doors of Death must be found and closed. Rick Riordan uses these words to describe the demigods' adventures in the Underworld.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–16, Chapters 17–32, Chapters 33–48, Chapters 49–62, Chapters 63–78

Here are links to our lists for The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan: The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades, The Blood of Olympus

And here are links to our lists for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reconcile
    bring into consonance or accord
    “You know why,” Rachel said. “To avoid this war. To reconcile the gods’ Greek and Roman sides. We have to work together to defeat Gaea.”
  2. sabotage
    destroy property or hinder normal operations
    “We’re already under attack. We must take the offensive! Those hairy dwarfs have been stealing our supplies, sabotaging our scouting parties—you know the Greeks sent them.”
  3. taboo
    excluded from use or mention
    “I can’t believe Reyna would try to find us. It’s taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She’ll be stripped of her praetorship.”
  4. mutiny
    open rebellion against constituted authority
    Once he became praetor, he’d campaigned to rename the legion the First Legion rather than the Twelfth Legion, to symbolize a new start for Rome. The idea had almost caused a mutiny. New Rome was all about tradition and legacies; the rules didn’t change easily.
  5. subsist
    support oneself
    Since they’d rescued him from the bronze jar in Rome, Nico had slept very little and eaten even less, as if he were still subsisting on those emergency pomegranate seeds from the Underworld.
  6. adjust
    adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions
    Honestly, I think Hazel has it worse. She remembers more about when she was young. She had to come back from the dead and adjust to the modern world.
  7. infernal
    being of the underworld
    Having Nico along was not reassuring. His Stygian iron blade seemed to make the shadows even gloomier, as if the infernal metal was drawing the light and heat out of the air.
  8. claustrophobic
    uncomfortably closed or hemmed in
    Barred windows lined the top of one wall, facing the street level, but that just made the cellar feel more claustrophobic. The shafts of sunlight looked like slanted prison bars, swirling with ancient dust.
  9. sarcophagus
    a stone coffin, usually bearing sculpture or inscriptions
    “The sarcophagus of Diocletian. Yes. This was its final resting place. The Christians moved it out of the mausoleum. Then some barbarians destroyed the coffin. I just wanted to show you”—he spread his hands sadly—“that what you’re looking for isn’t here.
  10. boundary
    the line indicating the limit or extent of something
    He felt out of control, his thoughts scattered, no boundaries between his body and the rest of the world. He wondered if this was how monsters felt when they were defeated—bursting into dust, helpless and formless.
  11. coward
    a person who shows fear or timidity
    Tell him, Nico di Angelo, Cupid said. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone.
  12. savage
    able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
    Psyche had been right. Cupid was a monster. Love was the most savage monster of all.
  13. isolated
    being or feeling set or kept apart from others
    Whether Nico had really given up on Percy or not, Jason couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Nico all those years, keeping a secret that would’ve been unthinkable to share in the 1940s, denying who he was, feeling completely alone—even more isolated than other demigods.
  14. swamp
    low land that is seasonally flooded
    She hated forging through a swamp that was obviously the stomping ground of a drakon.
  15. gruesome
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Annabeth hoped she never had to see such a gruesome scene again.
  16. sorrow
    an emotion of great sadness associated with loss
    He radiated sorrow and bitterness, as if he were so wrapped up in his own misery that he resented Annabeth for trying to make him focus on anything else.
  17. encompass
    include in scope
    Olympian gods were hard enough to imagine as parents, but at least they resembled humans. The old primordial gods like Gaea and Tartarus . . . How could you leave home and ever be independent of your parents, when they literally encompassed the entire world?
  18. exile
    expel from a country
    “Gaea opened the earth, and I was consumed, exiled here in the belly of my father Tartarus, where all the useless flotsam collects—all the bits of creation he does not care for.”
  19. scepter
    a ceremonial or emblematic staff
    It made sense that the scepter might have caused this weather change. The black orb on top seemed to leach the color right out of the air. The golden eagles at its base glinted coldly. The scepter could supposedly control the dead, and it definitely gave off bad vibes.
  20. distress
    psychological suffering
    Piper didn’t plan to shoot blueberry muffins. The cornucopia must have sensed her distress and thought she and her visitors could use some warm baked goods.
  21. punishment
    the act of imposing a penalty
    “Leo Valdez deserved a special punishment,” she said. “I have sent him to a place from which he can never return.”
  22. eternal
    continuing forever or indefinitely
    Your puny mortal souls flit off to the Underworld, and what happens then? The best I can hope for is that you go to the Fields of Punishment or Asphodel, but you demigods are insufferably noble. More likely you will go to Elysium—or get reborn in a new life. Why would I want to reward your friends that way? Why... when I can punish them eternally?
  23. useless
    having no beneficial utility
    She remembered the girls who used to make fun of her at the Wilderness School. She remembered Drew, the cruel head counselor she had replaced in Aphrodite’s cabin; and Medea, who had charmed Jason and Leo in Chicago; and Jessica, her dad’s old assistant, who had always treated her like a useless brat. All her life, Piper had been looked down upon, told she was useless.
  24. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    Each of them berated you because they feared you and envied you.
  25. frostbite
    damage to bodily tissue caused by extreme cold
    If you are toying with us, I will show you the horrors of frostbite. I doubt Zethes will still want you if you have no fingers or toes ... perhaps no nose or ears.
  26. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    She ran for it, but before she could get close, Khione materialized in front of her in a swirl of frost.
  27. feat
    a notable achievement
    Maybe love was no match for ice . . . but Piper had used it to wake a metal dragon. Mortals did superhuman feats in the name of love all the time. Mothers lifted cars to save their children. And Piper was more than just mortal. She was a demigod.
  28. cesspool
    a covered cistern for waste water and sewage
    He never thought he’d miss sleeping in a giant’s leather bed in a drakon-bone hut in a festering cesspool, but right now that sounded like Elysium.
  29. barren
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    In front of them was a clearing—a barren field of dust and stones.
  30. emaciated
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    In the center, about twenty yards away, knelt the gruesome figure of a woman, her clothes tattered, her limbs emaciated, her skin leathery green. Her head was bent as she sobbed quietly, and the sound shattered all Percy’s hopes.
  31. mourn
    express grief after the death of a loved one
    He realized that life was pointless. His struggles were for nothing. This woman cried as if mourning the death of the entire world.
  32. famine
    a severe shortage of food resulting in starvation and death
    She looked like the victim of a famine—limbs like sticks, swollen knees and knobby elbows, rags for clothes, broken fingernails and toenails.
  33. desolation
    sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned
    Her face was utter desolation. Her eyes were sunken and rheumy, pouring out tears. Her nose dripped like a waterfall.
  34. radiate
    send out rays or waves
    The goddess radiated pure pain.
  35. shroud
    form a cover like a burial garment
    “The Death Mist is not for helping!” Akhlys shrieked. “It shrouds mortals in misery as their souls pass into the Underworld. It is the very breath of Tartarus, of death, of despair!”
  36. agony
    intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain
    “If we fail, think how great it will be for you, gloating over our spirits when we die in agony. You’ll get to say ‘I told you so’ for eternity.”
  37. expanse
    a wide and open space or area, as of land, sea, or sky
    If they were still on the body of Tartarus, Percy figured they must be on the bottom of his foot—a rough, calloused expanse where only the most disgusting plant life grew.
  38. insubstantial
    lacking material form
    Percy studied his arms. All he saw were blobs of white mist, but he guessed that to Annabeth he looked like a corpse. He took a few steps, though it was difficult. His body felt insubstantial, like he was made of helium and cotton candy.
  39. encroach
    impinge or infringe upon
    He glared at the poison flood encroaching from all sides.
  40. anguish
    extreme distress of body or mind
    “Percy, please . . .” Annabeth’s face was still pale and corpse-like, but her eyes were the same as always. The anguish in them made Percy’s anger fade.
Created on Wed Apr 26 10:00:23 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Sep 12 15:23:18 EDT 2018)

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