Gregor the Overlander: Chapters 1–4

by Suzanne Collins
In the basement of their New York City apartment building, Gregor and his little sister discover a portal to an underground world populated by giant bats, insects, and rodents.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–13, Chapters 14–18, Chapters 19–27

Here are links to our lists for other books by Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. primal
    having existed from the beginning
    He ran his fingers over the bumps and resisted the impulse to let out a primal caveman scream.
  2. lukewarm
    moderately warm
    On really hot nights, Gregor and his mother could spread quilts on the floor to sleep, but with five in the room it wasn’t cool, just lukewarm.
  3. grimace
    contort the face to indicate a certain mental state
    Gregor caught a glimpse of a couple of shadowy shapes scurrying along the wall and grimaced.
  4. lucid
    capable of thinking in a clear and consistent manner
    In her more lucid moments, she’d talk Gregor through the quilt.
  5. wilt
    become fatigued; lose strength
    He opened the door to find Mrs. Cormaci looking wilted in the heat.
  6. bustle
    move or cause to move energetically or busily
    She bustled into the apartment patting her face with an old bandanna.
  7. ecstatic
    feeling great rapture or delight
    “By September, I’ll probably be ecstatic when we get the phone bill.”
  8. patter
    a quick succession of light rapid sounds
    Below him, he heard a small thump and then the patter of Boots’s sandals.
  9. crevice
    a long narrow opening
    It leaked through a narrow crevice between two smooth walls of rock.
  10. casual
    marked by a lack of concern
    Trying to appear casual, Gregor slowly edged his way back toward the crack in the rocks.
  11. slavish
    abjectly submissive; characteristic of a servant
    “Be she princess, Overlander, be she? Be she queen, be she?” asked the leader, dipping its head in slavish devotion.
  12. snippet
    a small piece of anything
    Gregor caught snippets of their conversation, but nothing that made sense.
  13. immerse
    devote fully to
    They were so immersed in their debate that he thought about trying to escape again.
  14. ingratiating
    calculated to please or gain favor
    “Ride the princess, ride she?” said the roach hopefully, waving its antennas ingratiatingly and flattening itself on its stomach before Boots.
  15. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    The roaches veered into side passages and even doubled back to choose a new route sometimes.
  16. exertion
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    Gregor began to pant, but the roaches didn’t show any visible signs of exertion.
  17. backpedal
    step backwards, in boxing
    The floor began to slope sharply, and Gregor found himself backpedaling to avoid stepping on the roach leader.
  18. feat
    a notable achievement
    One hand went out, and the ball fell into it in what was either a feat of remarkable timing or incredible luck.
  19. intricate
    having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
    The hair was woven in an intricate braid down her back and was tucked into a belt at her waist.
  20. stagger
    walk with great difficulty
    The girl staggered back a step and looked at Boots in disbelief.
  21. pudgy
    short and plump
    Boots grinned winningly and held up a pudgy hand.
  22. inflection
    the patterns of stress and intonation in a language
    “Louk-za?” said Gregor, trying to get the odd inflection right.
  23. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    Then she straightened up and resumed her haughty manner.
  24. painstaking
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
    The cockroach painstakingly added up four and one on its legs.
  25. terse
    brief and to the point
    “We will give five baskets,” said Luxa less than graciously, giving the roach a terse bow.
  26. proximity
    the property of being close together
    Despite the close proximity and speed of the bats, none of the people had any trouble staying mounted.
  27. flit
    move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
    In the small, dark display, hundreds of bats managed to flit around continuously without knocking into one another.
  28. echolocation
    determination of the position of objects by reflected sound
    They could do that because of something called echolocation.
  29. queasy
    feeling nausea
    Feeling queasy, Gregor pushed himself up on his elbows and scooted her onto the ground.
  30. aggravation
    an exasperated feeling of annoyance
    “What? Like I’m going somewhere?” said Gregor with aggravation.
  31. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    Still...these people were a little too smug for their own good.
  32. gratify
    make happy or satisfied
    They pulled up in an awkward clump, and while they didn’t actually collide, Gregor felt gratified to see several riders struggling to stay on their bats.
  33. suppress
    control and refrain from showing
    Luxa’s gaze was icy, but Gregor saw Vikus trying to suppress a smile as he walked up.
  34. blunt
    characterized by directness in manner or speech
    “Will you follow to the palace, Overlander?” asked Vikus politely.
    “As what, your prisoner?” said Gregor bluntly.
  35. indifferent
    marked by a lack of interest
    “Lead the way,” said Gregor indifferently.
  36. maneuver
    a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity
    Several bats still wove around the stadium doing aerodynamic maneuvers.
  37. transpire
    come about, happen, or occur
    “We? We humans kill the Overlanders? I know of your world, of the evils that transpire there. But we do not kill for sport!” said Vikus severely.
  38. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    Half a dozen pale, violet-eyed guards flanked two gigantic stone doors.
  39. discern
    perceive, recognize, or detect
    “These moths are a warning system peculiar to the Underland, I believe. The moment their pattern of flight is disturbed by an intruder, every bat in the area discerns it. I find it so perfect in its simplicity,” he said.
  40. beckon
    summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture
    Behind the curtain of wings, Gregor could hear his voice beckoning.
Created on Thu Jul 19 20:38:18 EDT 2018 (updated Fri Jul 27 11:06:12 EDT 2018)

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