Selected Short Stories of Ray Bradbury: Marionettes, Inc.

by Ray Bradbury
When robots replace humans, what could go wrong? Find out as you learn these words from Ray Bradbury's short story.

Here are links to our lists for short stories by the award-winning author: A Sound of Thunder, All Summer in a Day, August 2026, Marionettes, Inc., The Black Ferris, The Drummer Boy of Shiloh, The Flying Machine, The Pedestrian, The Veldt
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. grieve
    feel intense sorrow, especially due to a loss
    The street door of the apartment opened and the tall spare gentleman with the mustache and the grieved eyes came out to meet them.
  2. appalled
    struck with dread, shock, or dismay
    Smith staggered back and fluttered his eyelids, appalled.
  3. duplicate
    identically copy or match
    Duplicate self or friends, new humanoid plastic 1990 models, guaranteed against all physical wear.
  4. ethical
    adhering to moral principles
    It may be splitting hairs, but I think it highly ethical. After all, what my wife wants most of all is me.
  5. marionette
    a figure operated from above with strings by a puppeteer
    This marionette is me to the hairiest detail.
  6. perspire
    excrete sweat through the pores in the skin
    And he's built to do everything—eat, sleep, perspire—everything, natural as natural is.
  7. fond
    having or displaying warmth or affection
    "Your wife is rather nice," said Braling Two. "I've grown rather fond of her."
  8. respite
    a pause for relaxation
    Just a little respite. A night or so, once a month even. My wife loves me so much she can't bear to have me gone an hour.
  9. felony
    a serious crime, such as murder or arson
    Clients must be pledged to secrecy, for while an act is pending in Congress to legalize Marionettes, Inc., it is still a felony, if caught, to use one.
  10. mold
    the distinctive form in which a thing is made
    Clients must have a mold made of their body and a color index check of their eyes, lips, hair, skin, etc.
  11. motto
    a favorite saying of a sect or political group
    Our motto is "No Strings Attached."
  12. remorse
    a feeling of deep regret, usually for some misdeed
    He was almost overwhelmed with remorse at her innocent face there in the semidarkness.
  13. smother
    envelop completely
    "If you were awake you would smother me with kisses and coo in my ear. Really, you make me feel like a criminal. You have been such a good, loving wife."
  14. filch
    make off with belongings of others
    Humming, he opened the kidney desk in the library and filched the bankbook.
  15. indignant
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    He stormed into the bedroom, righteous and indignant.
  16. bellow
    shout loudly and without restraint
    "What've you done with my money!" he bellowed.
  17. disillusionment
    freeing from false belief
    And then, the horrid thought. And then the terror and the loneliness engulfed him. And then the fever and disillusionment.
  18. irrevocably
    in a manner that cannot be taken back
    For, without desiring to do so, he bent forward and yet forward again until his fevered ear was resting firmly and irrevocably upon her round pink bosom.
  19. cellar
    a room that is partly or wholly below ground level
    "Well, it's the cellar box for you, B-Two." Braling guided the other creature's elbow down the stairs to the cellar.
  20. concrete
    a strong hard building material made with gravel and cement
    "That's what I want to talk to you about," said Braling Two, as they reached the concrete floor and walked across it.
  21. irritable
    easily annoyed
    Braling Two gestured irritably. "And when you come back from having a good time, back in the box I go."
  22. specimen
    an example regarded as typical of its class
    Braling said, "They didn't tell me at the marionette shop that I'd get a difficult specimen."
  23. sensitive
    able to feel or perceive
    "There's a lot they don't know about us," said Braling Two. "We're pretty new. And we're sensitive. I hate the idea of you going off and laughing and lying in the sun in Rio while we're stuck here in the cold."
  24. employment
    the state of having a job
    "I'm glad you're enjoying your employment."
  25. casual
    marked by a lack of concern
    "T-that's nice." Braling strolled as casually as he could to the cellar door.
  26. seize
    take hold of; grab
    A metal-firm grip seized his wrists.
  27. delicate
    developed with extreme subtlety
    "You'll never know, will you?" Braling Two smiled delicately.
  28. affect
    have an influence upon
    "She must have guessed, she must have affected you!"
  29. rash
    marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences
    "Now, now, wait a minute. Hold on. Don't be rash. Let's talk this over!"
  30. murmur
    speak softly or indistinctly
    "Why—you haven't done that in years," she murmured.
Created on Fri May 12 13:40:36 EDT 2017 (updated Tue Apr 09 14:33:17 EDT 2019)

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