A Dance with Dragons: Prologue–Chapter 11

by George R.R. Martin
In the fifth volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, the fate of the seven kingdoms of Westeros hangs in the balance after a devastating battle.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 11, Chapters 12–23, Chapters 24–35, Chapters 36–47, Chapters 48–59, Chapter 60–Epilogue

Here are links to our lists for other volumes inA Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords
35 words 313 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. abomination
    a person who is loathsome or disgusting
    “Men may eat the flesh of beasts and beasts the flesh of men, but the man who eats the flesh of man is an abomination.”
  2. grotesque
    distorted and unnatural in shape or size
    Her body staggered, fell, and rose again, her hands flailed, her legs jerked this way and that in some grotesque dance as his spirit and her own fought for the flesh.
  3. stature
    the height of a standing person
    A palanquin fit for a man of my stature, he thought as they hammered shut the lid.
  4. disproportion
    imbalance among the parts of something
    Tyrion Lannister had lived all his life in a world that was too big for him, but in the manse of Illyrio Mopatis the sense of disproportion assumed grotesque dimensions.
  5. attaint
    bring shame or dishonor upon
    “I am an attainted traitor, a regicide, and kinslayer.”
  6. respite
    a pause from doing something
    She had hoped for a respite from the killing, for some time to build and heal.
  7. tenuous
    lacking substance or significance
    Beyond Meereen’s walls of many-colored brick, Dany’s rule was tenuous at best.
  8. shackle
    a restraint that confines or restricts freedom
    “All kneel for Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Khaleesi of Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Shackles, and Mother of Dragons.”
  9. reconcile
    bring into consonance or accord
    Reznak and the Green Grace had been urging Dany to take a Meereenese noble for her husband, to reconcile the city to her rule.
  10. grievance
    a complaint about a wrong that causes resentment
    “What is it?” Dany asked. “Do you have some grievance to lay before us, some petition? What would you have of us?”
  11. dire
    fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
    “Your Grace,” said Jon, with chilly courtesy, “I have housed your men and fed them, at dire cost to our winter stores.
  12. perpetuity
    the property of being seemingly ceaseless
    I have even agreed to allow you to settle wildlings on the Gift, which was given to the Night’s Watch in perpetuity.
  13. sufferance
    the practice of accepting others' differing opinions
    “You are only lord commander by my sufferance. You would do well to remember that.”
  14. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    Are we near? the boy would wonder, as Hodor clambered up a stony slope, or descended into some dark crevice where drifts of dirty snow cracked beneath his feet.
  15. infallible
    incapable of failure or error
    Even the trees were not as infallible a guide as they might have hoped, for there were wooded islands in the lake, and wide areas ashore where no trees grew.
  16. extremity
    that part of a limb that is farthest from the torso
    “Once the heart has ceased to beat, a man’s blood runs down into his extremities, where it thickens and congeals.”
  17. capricious
    determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
    Dragons and young girls are both capricious, and it may be that you will need to adjust your plans.
  18. ribald
    humorously vulgar
    Later, in the Planky Town, the Dornishmen had toasted Quentyn’s future bride, made ribald japes about his wedding night to come, and talked about the things they’d see, the deeds they’d do, the glory they would win.
  19. sinister
    wicked, evil, or dishonorable
    Dragon roads, men called the great stone roadways of the Freehold, but the one that ran eastward from Volantis to Meereen had earned a more sinister name: the demon road.
  20. scorn
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    His father’s disappointment would be more than Quentyn could bear, and the scorn of the Sand Snakes would be withering.
  21. prevail
    prove superior
    Yes, but... if the Lannisters should prevail and Lord Tywin decides that we betrayed the king by aiding Stannis, it could mean the end of the Night’s Watch.
  22. robust
    sturdy and strong in form, constitution, or construction
    Gilly’s boy was older, Dalla’s more robust, but they were close enough in age and size so that no one who did not know them well would be able to easily tell one from the other.
  23. confront
    deal with head on
    The men of the Night’s Watch were brave enough, but they were far too few for the task that confronted them.
  24. unseemly
    not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper
    “Small men oft feel a need to prove their courage with unseemly boasts,” he declared.
  25. venal
    capable of being corrupted
    I know which lords are brave and which are craven, which are loyal and which are venal.
  26. fancy
    a false idea or illusion that is the product of imagination
    What if we should find the queen and discover that this talk of dragons was just some sailor’s drunken fancy?
  27. haggard
    showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
    He was soaked and sore and haggard, worn thin by grief and betrayal, and sick to death of storms.
  28. treacherous
    dangerously unstable and unpredictable
    The sea’s a treacherous cruel thing.
  29. humble
    cause to feel shame
    Now he comes north humbled, with his tail between his legs.
  30. homely
    lacking in physical beauty or proportion
    Lady Melisandre wore no crown, but every man there knew that she was Stannis Baratheon’s real queen, not the homely woman he had left to shiver at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.
  31. deny
    refuse to recognize or acknowledge
    Inside his cage, Mance Rayder clawed at the noose about his neck with bound hands and screamed incoherently of treachery and witchery, denying his kingship, denying his people, denying his name, denying all that he had ever been.
  32. grim
    not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
    The more they see of Lord Stannis the less they love him, and fewer still are fond of Lady Melisandre with her fires and this grim red god of hers.
  33. askance
    with suspicion or disapproval
    When Reznak and Skahaz appeared, she found herself looking at them askance, mindful of the three treasons.
  34. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    He tried to fly to her, but the chains snapped taut as he rose and slammed him down onto his belly.
  35. bask
    derive or receive pleasure from
    In the end, they had to cover him with a net of heavy iron chain as he basked on her terrace, and he fought so fiercely that it had taken three days to carry him down the servants’ steps, twisting and snapping.
Created on Sat Apr 11 15:07:50 EDT 2015 (updated Mon Oct 01 17:03:38 EDT 2018)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.