Slaughterhouse-Five: Chapter 1

by Kurt Vonnegut
Loosely based on the author, the narrator sets out to write a book about his experiences during World War II, but ends up telling about Billy Pilgrim, a soldier who gets "unstuck in time" and travels throughout moments of his life both on Earth and the planet Tralfamadore.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–6, Chapters 7–10
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incinerate
    become reduced to ashes
    His mother was incinerated in the Dresden fire-storm.
  2. infantry
    an army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot
    We had been privates in the war, infantry scouts.
  3. rabid
    marked by excessive enthusiasm for a cause or idea
    The rabid little American I call Paul Lazzaro in this book had about a quart of diamonds and emeralds and rubies and so on.
    Mentally, Lazzaro is rabid about revenge. Physically, he is rabid from a dog bite that has infected his nervous system; additionally, he had suffered from many plagues of boils that made his body the worst of all the American prisoners of war.
  4. anthropology
    science of the origins and social relationships of humans
    I was a student in the Department of Anthropology. At that time, they were teaching that there was absolutely no difference between anybody.
  5. sordid
    morally degraded
    The Children’s Crusade struck him as only slightly more sordid than the ten Crusades for grown-ups.
  6. magnanimity
    nobility and generosity of spirit
    Romance, on the other hand, dilates upon their piety and heroism, and portrays, in her most glowing and impassioned hues, their virtue and magnanimity, the imperishable honor they acquired for themselves, and the great services they rendered to Christianity.
  7. imperishable
    not subject to destruction or death or decay
    Romance, on the other hand, dilates upon their piety and heroism, and portrays, in her most glowing and impassioned hues, their virtue and magnanimity, the imperishable honor they acquired for themselves, and the great services they rendered to Christianity.
    The bodies of the knights might have been destroyed, but if that happened during a Crusade, they achieved imperishable honor. The choice of this death-filled adjective seems to emphasize that the original author of this example sentence (Charles Mackay) and Vonnegut/narrator (who's repeating it in his book) do not agree with this romantic view of war.
  8. stately
    impressive in appearance
    Furthermore, the stately Kreuzkirche tower, from which the enemy’s movements had been watched day and night, stood in flames. It later succumbed.
  9. succumb
    be fatally overwhelmed
    Furthermore, the stately Kreuzkirche tower, from which the enemy’s movements had been watched day and night, stood in flames. It later succumbed.
  10. devastation
    the state of being decayed or destroyed
    The devastation of Dresden was boundless.
Created on Tue Mar 12 13:40:37 EDT 2013 (updated Fri Jul 25 12:43:43 EDT 2025)

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