Scythe: Part Three

by Neal Shusterman
Citra and Rowan live in a society in which all natural causes of death have been eliminated. The two teenagers are recruited to be "scythes," people who administer death in order to cull the population.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

Here are links to our lists for other works by Neal Shusterman: Challenger Deep, Dry
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hankering
    a yearning for something or to do something
    “I had a hankering for hasenpfeffer,” the scythe said. “I think you’ll like it.”
  2. sardonic
    disdainfully or ironically humorous
    “You’ll need a steadier hand than that if you’re going to be a scythe.” Again, Citra couldn’t tell if she was being serious or sardonic.
  3. stagnant
    not growing or changing; without force or vitality
    “It’s not about age, it’s about stagnation. Some people grow stagnant before they turn their first corner. For others it could take hundreds of years.”
  4. prostrate
    stretched out and lying at full length along the ground
    She splayed herself, prostrate on the ground, her right cheek pressed against the pavement, which was searingly hot from the midday sun.
  5. decorum
    propriety in manners and conduct
    There was a certain amount of decorum required of an apprentice.
  6. foible
    a minor weakness or peculiarity in someone's character
    I’ve seen human foibles that have resulted in temporary maiming or momentary loss of life.
  7. disabuse
    free somebody from an erroneous belief
    Rhonda had led the pack in disabusing Citra of that delusion through eyeball rolls and exasperated exhales each time Citra took an imperfect step.
  8. penance
    voluntary self-punishment in order to atone for something
    “So now the penance you’ve given yourself is to be a scythe, forever doomed to take lives as punishment for that one childhood act.”
  9. edict
    a formal or authoritative proclamation
    While one might expect such an edict to produce a bloodbath, very few gleanings ever took place. Once word got out, the posers shed their false robes and vanished into the woodwork of the world. To this day the edict remains, but rarely needs to be invoked, because few are foolish enough to impersonate a scythe.
  10. detritus
    the remains of something that has been destroyed or finished
    In less than an hour the guests had left, and servants began to clean the detritus of revelry from the eerily silent grounds.
  11. cumbersome
    difficult to handle or use, especially because of size or weight
    The other scythes then removed their cumbersome outer robes.
  12. redundancy
    a system design that duplicates components
    There are safety systems in every home and every office building, with multiple levels of redundancy, just in case.
  13. bereaved
    a person who has suffered the death of someone they loved
    Most of the bereaved that Citra had to notify were the same: husbands, wives, children, parents.
  14. brethren
    the lay members of a male religious order
    “G-sharp,” said Brother Ferguson. “Although there’s a standing argument among the brethren that it’s actually A-flat.”
  15. curate
    a person authorized to conduct religious worship
    Citra looked to the candles by the altar. “Is that why the curate was dousing candles?”
  16. vilify
    spread negative information about
    “That’s a common misconception. People use that to vilify us. What we worship are the wavelengths and vibrations that are beyond the limits of human sight. We believe in the Great Vibration, and that it will free us from being stagnant.”
  17. commiserate
    feel or express sympathy or compassion
    She couldn’t commiserate with her father about that moment when life left a person’s eyes.
  18. complement
    a full number or quantity
    Once she created her own algorithm to sort out the irrelevant photos from the streetcams, she had a full complement of surveillance videos.
  19. beleaguer
    annoy persistently
    Rowan could feel himself growing numb—and while it might have been a good thing for his beleaguered sanity, it was not a good thing for his soul.
  20. eviscerate
    remove the entrails of
    “I cleanly decapitated five of them, eviscerated three, and I severed the aortas of the rest. If any of them had actually been alive, they would be dead now. I did just what you wanted.”
  21. effigy
    a representation of a person
    Servants replaced the dummies with fresh effigies.
  22. pontificate
    talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner
    Goddard’s pontifications were constant, and although Rowan often disagreed, he didn’t argue or voice his dissent.
  23. pragmatist
    a person who takes a practical approach to problems
    “I’ve always found it pointless, but one must impress the academics in the Scythedom as well as the pragmatists.”
  24. decadence
    the state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities
    He had no idea who organized them, or where the revelers came from, but they always came, along with food enough to feed armies, and every sort of decadence.
  25. forbearance
    good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
    “He sees compassion and forbearance as weakness. But you have other traits that are beginning to awaken. You’ll be a new-order scythe yet!”
  26. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
    To Rowan it sounded like more empty platitudes—but Volta wasn’t like Goddard that way. He didn’t usually speak in lofty, meaningless ideas.
  27. litany
    a prayer consisting of a series of invocations by the priest with responses from the congregation
    Goddard spouted his ritualistic litany as he moved through the panicked mob, switching his weapons as it suited him, and Rowan swung his hatchet at anything that would shatter, then secretly directed whoever he could toward the one unguarded stairwell.
  28. proxy
    a person authorized to act for another
    “You can use it if I give you permission as a proxy,” Goddard told him.
  29. inexorably
    in a manner impervious to change or persuasion
    But the clock never stopped ticking. It moved inexorably toward one of their deaths.
  30. ingratiate
    gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts
    Although there were a number of scythes who turned a cold shoulder, even more crowded them, seeking to ingratiate themselves.
  31. categorical
    not modified or restricted by reservations
    The thought that Goddard might actually like him made Rowan uncomfortable—because the things that Goddard liked, Rowan categorically despised.
  32. tout
    advertise in strongly positive terms
    Citra found herself getting increasingly anxious after lunch, as the weapons manufacturers touted their wares and various motions were hotly debated.
  33. hallowed
    worthy of religious veneration
    Why should any of that matter when the hallowed act of gleaning was slowly devolving into mortal age murder?
  34. vitriol
    abusive or venomous language to express blame or censure
    Some were furious at Cervantes, others were spouting vitriol at Rowan for what he had done.
  35. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    Rowan stood stoic, letting no emotions show.
  36. odious
    extremely repulsive or unpleasant
    I can’t recall which scythe began that odious campaign to glean only those who were born mortal, but it spread throughout each regional Scythedom, a viral idea in a post-viral time.
  37. toady
    a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage
    Volta chimed in with a hearty but staged laugh. If he had to play toady, he would own the part today.
  38. render
    cause to become
    “Tomorrow you train with pistols against moving targets. You’ll render all but one of your subjects deadish with a single bullet, or I will personally—without bias or malice—glean that party-boy friend of yours.”
  39. broach
    bring up a topic for discussion
    It was at dinner on their first day back at Falling Water that Citra finally broached the subject she had been dreading.
  40. auspices
    kindly endorsement and guidance
    “All revival falls under the auspices of the Thunderhead, and we are here to make sure its domain is not infringed upon.”
Created on Mon Jun 11 15:50:40 EDT 2018 (updated Fri Jan 04 10:15:55 EST 2019)

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