The Canyon's Edge: List 3

by Dusti Bowling
When Nora gets lost while exploring a canyon, she must fight to survive and find her father.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two: Black Water–A Drink, Part Two: Carried Away–Desert Sun, Part Two: Forgive–Part Three
30 words 77 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. mar
    destroy or injure severely
    The limbs
    scratch and slice,
    mar and mangle,
    injure and inflame
    my arms and legs.
  2. inflame
    cause redness and swelling in
    The limbs
    scratch and slice,
    mar and mangle,
    injure and inflame
    my arms and legs.
  3. welt
    a raised mark on the skin
    Its slender, green branches
    snap and slash,
    lick and lash,
    whip and welt
    my face.
  4. rend
    tear or be torn violently
    Its thorny claws
    clasp and catch,
    tug and tear,
    rip and rend
    my long hair.
  5. unravel
    disentangle
    All I feel is my heart pounding in excitement
    as I continue unraveling the rope
    from the tree that carried it away.
  6. replica
    copy that is not the original
    I’m searching for repeats, reproductions, replicas.
  7. pith
    spongelike central cylinder of the stems of flowering plants
    I shove one slender bean in my mouth
    and bite down, snapping the pod in half,
    then chewing, trying to get to the edible
    part of the pod, the pulp, the pith.
  8. refuge
    a safe place
    But the fluttering in my stomach and heart
    doesn’t stop.
    Flash. Boom!
    Because this refuge
    is about twenty feet up.
  9. invincible
    incapable of being overcome or subdued
    You don’t ever feel like you’re invincible?
  10. slack
    a cord or rope or cable that is hanging loosely
    I’ve never climbed
    without rope...
    without a belayer
    standing at the bottom,
    taking up my slack
    and keeping me safe
    so I don’t plummet to the earth.
  11. plummet
    drop sharply
    I’ve never climbed
    without rope...
    without a belayer
    standing at the bottom,
    taking up my slack
    and keeping me safe
    so I don’t plummet to the earth.
  12. ascent
    a movement upward
    I work out the ascent in my mind,
    squinting in the deepening twilight,
    following a path
    from the ground to the cave.
  13. lurch
    move abruptly
    My hair breaks free,
    falls in my face,
    my stomach lurching
  14. flail
    thrash about
    I kick and flail
    and stub toes
  15. hyperventilate
    breathe excessively hard and fast
    I breathe so hard that my hair
    rises and falls,
    rises and falls,
    with my hyperventilating.
  16. compassion
    a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering
    You won’t just be numb to pain,
    but numb to joy, numb to compassion,
    numb to love.
  17. camouflage
    exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something
    The Beast
    is dead, pale eyes
    and jagged teeth
    and sharp claws
    and camouflaged exoskeleton
    that glows
  18. molt
    cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers
    the Beast begins
    to molt
    his exoskeleton
    to reveal
    what is underneath
  19. remnant
    a small part remaining after the main part no longer exists
    ...I see
    two claws
    curving
    over the edge
    of the cave to grip the ground
    where remnants of my blood and hair remain.
  20. caress
    touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner
    Her gentle fingertips
    caress my forehead.
  21. matted
    tangled in a dense mass
    Reaching a hand up to my matted hair,
    I feel the tender lump on the back of my skull
    where it hit the cave ceiling.
  22. tender
    hurting
    Reaching a hand up to my matted hair,
    I feel the tender lump on the back of my skull
    where it hit the cave ceiling.
  23. dehydrated
    suffering from excessive loss of water from the body
    I made it through another night.
    So sick and dehydrated and starving,
    but I’m still here.
  24. vanquish
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    I beat the Beast back
    and I vanquished the venom
    and I thwarted the thirst,
    and I’m still here.
  25. thwart
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
    I beat the Beast back
    and I vanquished the venom
    and I thwarted the thirst,
    and I’m still here.
  26. feeble
    pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
    It’s not very far,
    but my muscles are feeble,
    weak from dehydration,
    venom,
    lack of food.
  27. frail
    physically weak
    What little I have left is as thin and frail
    as the monarch’s wings.
  28. crucial
    of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis
    Grip strength is crucial, Dad says,
    holding Mom’s rope as she climbs,
    keeping it taut.
  29. wince
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    I drag my legs up out of the canyon.
    I pull my boots, socks still stuffed inside,
    off my shoulder and slip them back on my
    sore feet, wincing at the pain.
  30. lament
    regret strongly
    But I don’t have time to lament my
    lost mud,
    lost hair,
    lost water
Created on Mon Feb 08 17:20:17 EST 2021 (updated Tue Feb 23 16:05:12 EST 2021)

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