The Giver: Chapters 9–13

by Lois Lowry
Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a regimented community that is free from pain and suffering—but also free from joy, independence, and even color. When he is appointed the community's Receiver of Memory, Jonas begins to question everything he has been taught.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–18, Chapters 19–23

Explore other lists of The Giver Quartet here.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. relish
    vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
    He imagined Benjamin, the scientific male in his group, beginning to read pages of rules and instructions with relish.
  2. exempt
    grant relief from a rule or requirement to
    From this moment you are exempted from rules governing rudeness. You may ask any question of any citizen and you will receive answers.
  3. requisition
    make a formal request for official services
    When he had crushed his finger in the door, he had quickly, gasping into the speaker, notified his mother; she had hastily requisitioned relief-of-pain medication which had promptly been delivered to his dwelling.
  4. integral
    existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
    He had been trained since earliest childhood, since his earliest learning of language, never to lie. It was an integral part of the learning of precise speech.
  5. conceivably
    within the realm of possibility
    Now, empowered to ask questions of utmost rudeness — and promised answers — he could, conceivably (though it was almost unimaginable), ask someone, some adult, his father perhaps: “Do you lie?”
  6. conspicuous
    obvious to the eye or mind
    But the most conspicuous difference was the books.
  7. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    And the sled itself seemed to be poised at the top of a long, extended mound that rose from the very land where he was.
  8. exhilarating
    thrilling or invigorating
    The snow was piled now around it, and he pushed with his body, moving it forward, not wanting the exhilarating ride to end.
  9. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    Tentatively he opened his eyes — not his snow-hill-sled eyes, for they had been open throughout the strange ride. He opened his ordinary eyes, and saw that he was still on the bed, that he had not moved at all.
  10. obsolete
    no longer in use
    It wasn’t a practical thing, so it became obsolete when we went to Sameness.
  11. unwieldy
    difficult to work with or manipulate
    “And hills, too,” he added. “They made conveyance of goods unwieldy. Trucks; buses. Slowed them down. So—” He waved his hand, as if a gesture had caused hills to disappear.
  12. admonition
    cautionary advice about something imminent
    He was very aware of his own admonition not to discuss his training.
  13. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    “I apologi—” Jonas began, and then stopped, flustered, remembering there were to be no apologies.
  14. distinctive
    of a feature that helps to identify a person or thing
    There were a lot of colors, and one of them was called red. That’s the one you are starting to see. Your friend Fiona has red hair — quite distinctive, actually; I’ve noticed it before.
  15. sinuous
    curved or curving in and out
    With its sinuous trunk it stroked the huge corpse; then it reached up, broke some leafy branches with a snap, and draped them over the mass of torn thick flesh.
Created on Thu Sep 26 21:37:14 EDT 2013 (updated Mon Jun 23 15:58:16 EDT 2025)

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