The Alchemist: Pages 112–171

by Paolo Coelho
Santiago is a young Andalusian shepherd whose desire for a different life leads him on a journey of self-discovery.

This list covers pages 111-171 in the 2004 edition published by HarperOne.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
15 words 5864 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. astride
    with one leg on each side
    Astride the animal was a horseman dressed completely in black, with a falcon perched on his left shoulder.
  2. prognostication
    a statement made about the future
    “Be careful with your prognostications,” said the stranger. “When something is written, there is no way to change it.”
  3. scimitar
    a curved saber used in Eastern countries
    When they reached the white tent at the center of Al-Fayoum, they withdrew their scimitars and rifles.
  4. reiterate
    say, state, or perform again
    “But there’s a tribal war,” the boy reiterated.
  5. daunting
    discouraging through fear
    The alchemist was a bit daunting, but, as the boy drank the wine, he relaxed.
  6. traitorous
    having the character of, or characteristic of, a betrayer
    Camels are traitorous: they walk thousands of paces and never seem to tire. Then suddenly, they kneel and die.
  7. monotony
    the quality of wearisome constancy and lack of variety
    The desert, with its endless monotony, put him to dreaming.
  8. elixir
    a substance believed to cure all ills
    Whoever swallows that elixir will never be sick again
  9. stimulus
    any information or event that acts to arouse action
    When his heart spoke to him, it was to provide a stimulus to the boy, and to give him strength, because the days of silence there in the desert were wearisome.
  10. impenetrable
    not admitting of passage into or through
    So, once again, the world had demonstrated its many languages: the desert only moments ago had been endless and free, and now it was an impenetrable wall.
  11. impassable
    incapable of being gone across or through
    In any case, the desert was impassable.
  12. preconceived
    formed beforehand
    It told of Personal Legend, and of the many men who had wandered in search of distant lands or beautiful women, confronting the people of their times with their preconceived notions.
  13. excavation
    a hole in the ground made by digging
    He struggled to continue digging as he fought the wind, which often blew the sand back into the excavation.
  14. abrade
    wear away
    His hands were abraded and exhausted, but he listened to his heart.
  15. conquistador
    a 16th-century Spanish conqueror of Peru and Mexico
    The spoils of a conquest that the country had long ago forgotten, and that some conquistador had failed to tell his children about.
Created on Sat Aug 08 21:05:58 EDT 2015 (updated Mon Jul 14 16:38:40 EDT 2025)

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.