Catching Fire: Chapters 5–9

by Suzanne Collins
In this sequel to The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta are forced to participate in the Quarter Quell, while unrest in the districts of Panem threatens the Capitol. Learn these words from Suzanne Collins' popular trilogy.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–14, Chapters 15–18, Chapters 19–22, Chapters 23–27

Here are links to our lists for the trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Here is a link to our lists for Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins.
40 words 948 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. jeopardy
    a source of danger
    I lay out how we are all in jeopardy, how the whole country is in jeopardy because of my trick with the berries.
  2. brutal
    able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
    This place is not a larger version of District 12. Our fence is unguarded and rarely charged. Our Peacekeepers are unwelcome but less brutal.
  3. desperation
    hopeless recklessness
    Here in 11, they suffer more acutely and feel more desperation.
  4. circumstance
    the set of facts that surround a situation or event
    And it would be one thing if I had planned to stir things up, but given the circumstances...how on earth did I cause so much trouble?
  5. indistinguishable
    exactly alike; incapable of being perceived as different
    We descend the steps and are sucked into what becomes an indistinguishable round of dinners, ceremonies, and train rides.
  6. trigger
    put in motion or move to act
    Even without our personal speeches to trigger dissent—needless to say the ones we gave in District 11 were edited out before the event was broadcast—you can feel something in the air, the rolling boil of a pot about to run over.
  7. elation
    a feeling of joy and pride
    But in others—particularly 8, 4, and 3—there is genuine elation in the faces of the people at the sight of us, and under the elation, fury.
  8. chant
    utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically
    When they chant my name, it is more of a cry for vengeance than a cheer.
  9. unruly
    unable to be governed or controlled
    When the Peacekeepers move in to quiet an unruly crowd, it presses back instead of retreating.
  10. embrace
    take up the cause of someone and use it as one's own
    If my holding out those berries was an act of temporary insanity, then these people will embrace insanity, too.
  11. discreet
    marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
    When Effie brings it up to me, I think, Good. Maybe it will get back to President Snow. I tell her we’ll make an effort to be more discreet, but we don’t.
  12. catatonic
    characterized by unresponsiveness or lack of movement
    And when President Snow silences the audience and says, “What do you think about us throwing them a wedding right here in the Capitol?” I pull off girl-almost-catatonic-with-joy without a hitch.
  13. accessory
    an article worn to complement one's main clothing
    Apparently my mockingjay pin has spawned a new fashion sensation, because several people come up to show me their accessories.
  14. abhorrent
    offensive to the mind
    But I make Peeta eat the remainder because I want to keep tasting things, and the idea of throwing away food, as I see so many people doing so casually, is abhorrent to me.
  15. emaciated
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    All I can think of is the emaciated bodies of the children on our kitchen table as my mother prescribes what the parents can’t give.
  16. backfire
    return with an undesired effect
    “It’s a funny choice, a mockingjay,” I said. “I mean, because of what happened in the rebellion. With the jabberjays backfiring on the Capitol and all.”
  17. enhance
    make better or more attractive
    The jabberjays were muttations, genetically enhanced male birds created by the Capitol as weapons to spy on rebels in the districts. They could remember and repeat long passages of human speech, so they were sent into rebel areas to capture our words and return them to the Capitol.
  18. thrive
    grow vigorously
    A mockingjay is a creature the Capitol never intended to exist. They hadn’t counted on the highly controlled jabberjay having the brains to adapt to the wild, to pass on its genetic code, to thrive in a new form. They hadn’t anticipated its will to live.
  19. replicate
    reproduce or make an exact copy of
    Now, as I trudge through the snow, I see the mockingjays hopping about on branches as they pick up on other birds’ melodies, replicate them, and then transform them into something new.
  20. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    I start a small fire, counting on the mist to obscure any telltale smoke.
  21. tension
    feelings of hostility that are not manifest
    I tell him about the uneasiness that dogged me even once I was back home, President Snow’s visit to my house, the murders in District 11, the tension in the crowds, the last-ditch effort of the engagement, the president’s indication that it hadn’t been enough, my certainty that I’ll have to pay.
  22. agitation
    a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance
    I rise in agitation, preparing for an argument.
  23. undeniable
    not possible to contradict
    “No! We have to leave here before they kill us and a lot of other people, too!” I’m yelling again, but I can’t understand why he’s doing this. Why doesn’t he see what’s so undeniable?
  24. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    Peeta shakes his head and gives me a rueful smile.
  25. harsh
    unpleasantly stern
    “Get down. Get out of here!” He’s whispering, but his voice is harsh with insistence.
  26. deflect
    turn aside and away from an initial or intended course
    Instead I throw myself directly between the whip and Gale. I’ve flung out my arms to protect as much of his broken body as possible, so there’s nothing to deflect the lash.
  27. welt
    a raised mark on the skin
    I can already feel the welt rising up, the swelling closing my eye.
  28. repercussion
    a remote or indirect consequence of some action
    The only three people in the district who could make a stand like this. Although it’s sure to be temporary. There will be repercussions.
  29. offense
    an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
    “I believe, for a first offense, the required number of lashes has been dispensed, sir. Unless your sentence is death, which we would carry out by firing squad.”
  30. plead
    enter a defendant's answer
    He was brought to the square, forced to plead guilty to his crime, and sentenced to a whipping to be carried out immediately.
  31. immune
    not affected by a given influence
    I'm filled with awe, as I always am, as I watch her transform from a woman who calls me to kill a spider to a woman immune to fear. When a sick or dying person is brought to her...this is the only time I think my mother knows who she is.
  32. fate
    an event that will inevitably happen in the future
    I have to face the fact that my family and friends might share this fate.
  33. justification
    something that shows an action to be reasonable or necessary
    Prim...Rue...aren’t they the very reason I have to try to fight? Because what has been done to them is so wrong, so beyond justification, so evil that there is no choice? Because no one has the right to treat them as they have been treated?
  34. resentment
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    So many, so clearly acting in defiance of the Capitol. Was it even planned, or something that simply erupted out of years of hatred and resentment?
  35. catalyst
    something that causes an important event to happen
    I may have been a catalyst for rebellion, but a leader should be someone with conviction, and I’m barely a convert myself.
  36. incite
    provoke or stir up
    If he does, everything will just get more complicated and I really can't think about kissing when I’ve got a rebellion to incite.
  37. gallows
    an instrument from which a person is executed by hanging
    Most unnerving is a line of new constructions—an official whipping post, several stockades, and a gallows—set up in the center of the square.
  38. thwart
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
    An uprising requires breaking the law, thwarting authority.
  39. poach
    hunt illegally
    We’ve done that our whole lives, or our families have. Poaching, trading on the black market, mocking the Capitol in the woods.
  40. incriminate
    suggest that someone is guilty
    Perhaps they have orders to bring me in alive so they can torture me into incriminating every person I ever knew.
Created on Fri Jul 28 10:05:55 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Oct 01 16:36:18 EDT 2018)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.