Pax: Chapters 18–24

by Sara Pennypacker
After a war breaks out, Peter is forced to abandon Pax, his beloved pet fox — but Peter and Pax are determined to find one another again.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–7, Chapters 8–13, Chapters 14–17, Chapters 18–24, Chapters 25–34
30 words 179 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reproach
    a mild rebuke or criticism
    The bird’s glittering gaze seemed a reproach.
  2. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    It had been so cold that his father had relented and allowed Pax inside early to stretch out close to the fire.
  3. slake
    satisfy, as thirst
    When his thirst was slaked, he pushed the reeds aside.
  4. gouge
    an impression in a surface, as made by a blow
    New gouges raked across the hillside behind the mill ruins.
  5. eddy
    flow in a circular current, of liquids
    The wind eddied, bearing smoke from the west.
  6. sheathe
    enclose with a protective covering
    Before he’d chewed through the sheathing, a fury of teeth attacked him from behind.
  7. reclaim
    reassert one's right or title to
    Every time he attempted to reclaim his position at the wire, her snapping jaws held him away.
  8. spur
    incite or stimulate
    The panic in her voice only seemed to spur Runt on—he rose again to get her position and then loped in joyful bounds toward her.
  9. jolt
    an abrupt spasmodic movement
    A jolt of current shattered one of his back teeth.
  10. swath
    a path or strip (also figurative)
    And then a swath of lower field exploded into the sky.
  11. earthy
    of or consisting of or resembling the soil
    Pax found Bristle tucked into the earthy ball of its roots.
  12. rasp
    a coarse file with sharp pointed projections
    “You can’t go drifting off when you’re working with tools.” Vola settled herself on a barrel beside him and picked up a rasp and an oily cloth.
  13. notch
    make a small cut into
    It wasn’t much to look at—the corners raggedly notched and lashed with twine, mismatched scrap boards nailed onto the frame for the walls and floor—but when he strung a length of burlap over the top, he smiled.
  14. blankly
    without expression
    The marionette’s black eyes looked back at him blankly.
  15. noble
    having high or elevated character
    The tears streaming down her cheeks gleamed in the flickering light. Somehow they only served to make her look noble.
  16. commingle
    mix or blend
    But above the commingled scents rose the one he craved more than any other.
  17. waver
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    Again Pax took a single step. Again the small fox matched it. And again. And once more, until he didn’t waver at all.
  18. sate
    fill to contentment
    When he was sated, he dropped his head, his eyes closing.
  19. daze
    overcome as with astonishment or disbelief
    Dazed and disoriented, they would have made easy meals, but Bristle let them pass, as if obeying some code that protected those so terrified.
  20. disoriented
    having lost your bearings
    Dazed and disoriented, they would have made easy meals, but Bristle let them pass, as if obeying some code that protected those so terrified.
  21. prosthesis
    a device that replaces a missing part of the body
    Peter noticed how smooth her gait was with the prosthesis.
  22. heft
    test the weight of something by lifting it
    The baseball bat was turned perfectly smooth, the weight so solid and balanced that the world seemed to slow as he hefted it.
  23. pedestal
    an architectural support or base
    His mother’s blue gazing globe, batted off its pedestal into a million shards.
  24. revere
    regard with feelings of respect
    I’m part Creole, part Italian, and part a dozen other things. But all people who revered birds in their cultures, my parents realized.
  25. penance
    voluntary self-punishment in order to atone for something
    Her amazing puppets were going to live now. Really live, out in the real world, not just exist to perform as some kind of penance.
  26. earnestly
    in a sincere and serious manner
    A frowning girl with a straw-colored ponytail was digging by herself in a sandbox, earnestly moving shovelful after shovelful from one pile to another.
  27. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    The shortstop scoffed. “Like you don’t know you creamed us.”
  28. hermit
    one who lives in solitude
    Maybe being a hermit for a week had made him weird already.
  29. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    Half a dozen kids had materialized, and they gaped and grinned as she lifted out each marionette.
  30. grudging
    unwilling or reluctant
    Vola gave him a look that was half irritation, half grudging defeat.
Created on Wed Nov 14 09:24:51 EST 2018 (updated Wed Nov 14 12:06:47 EST 2018)

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