The Dark Prophecy: Chapters 30–42

by Rick Riordan
In this second book of the series The Trials of Apollo, Lester must reclaim and protect five Oracles from three evil emperors with help from the demigod Leo Valdez, bronze dragon Festus, and sorceress Calypso.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–12, Chapters 13–19, Chapters 20–29, Chapters 30–42
40 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dapper
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
    Jamie stood next to me, a dapper apparition in brown.
  2. furtive
    secret and sly
    “The serious conversations with our hosts?” I said. “The furtive glances?”
  3. fervently
    with strong emotion or zeal
    Most of that time, I had fervently wished I could be anywhere else, with anyone else.
  4. scrutiny
    the act of examining something closely, as for mistakes
    Perhaps, when Zeus created my license, he had put some sort of spell on the ID that allowed me to pass simple scrutiny such as highway stops.
  5. dispatch
    kill without delay
    “Once you’ve dispatched whatever guards we find—”
    “Once we have dispatched them,” she corrected.
  6. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
    I was constantly amazed at how resilient mortals could be in the face of catastrophe. Even the most traumatized, ill-treated, shell-shocked humans could carry on as if things were completely normal.
  7. repertoire
    the range of skills in a particular field or occupation
    I ran through my limited repertoire of skills.
  8. sublime
    worthy of adoration or reverence
    Floating before me was a dark goddess, her ebony hair wafting in the cold current, her dress billowing around her like volcanic smoke. Her face was delicate and sublime, her lipstick, eye shadow, and mascara all expertly done in shades of midnight.
  9. animosity
    a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility
    I knew she hated me, which wasn’t surprising, since she was also the goddess of hatred.
    But I had no idea who I was or what I’d done to earn her animosity.
  10. sheer
    very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front
    To our left rose a sheer face of rock.
  11. leaden
    lacking lightness or liveliness
    One small mistake and my edgy jazz beat would turn into a leaden polka.
  12. apprehensive
    in fear or dread of possible evil or harm
    She glanced apprehensively down the tunnel.
  13. renounce
    turn away from; give up
    And yet...I thought of Emmie and Josephine renouncing immortality for each other. I thought of Calypso giving up her home, her powers, and eternal life for a chance to roam the world, experience love, and possibly enjoy the wonders of high school in Indiana.
  14. refined
    cultivated and genteel
    Well, she makes your table manners look positively refined! Er, no offense.
  15. noxious
    injurious to physical or mental health
    The pain almost made me black out, a noxious cloud of horror flooding through my sinuses, down my throat, and into my chest.
  16. potpourri
    a jar of mixed flower petals and spices used as perfume
    I buried my face in his purple clothes, his sickly sweet cologne—not like flowers, but like old, desiccated potpourri in a nursing home.
  17. miasma
    an unwholesome atmosphere
    Then, our minds comingled, Meg and I plunged into primordial Chaos—the miasma from which the Fates wove the future, making destiny out of randomness.
  18. amiably
    in a friendly manner
    “You’re excused,” the trooper said amiably, “but only because you’re an idiot.”
  19. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    So far, no clever plan had materialized.
  20. bravado
    a swaggering show of courage
    I tried to channel some of Calypso’s bravado.
  21. obliging
    showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others
    Sadly, no more obliging chunks of ceiling broke free to crush my last enemy.
  22. uncanny
    surpassing the ordinary or normal
    She had an uncanny ability to fire on the move, avoid counterstrikes, and target her victims’ kneecaps.
  23. sate
    fill to contentment
    She didn’t sound too concerned about this, probably because she was sated and sleepy.
  24. gauntlet
    a severe or trying experience
    His hair and clothes were scorched as if he’d run through a gauntlet of flamethrowers, leaving his Cornhuskers shirt looking like the surface of a burnt marshmallow.
  25. impassive
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    His Germani were well-trained to stay impassive, but they betrayed scornful smirks.
  26. mauve
    a moderate purple
    Commodus’s purple robes had been bleached a weak shade of mauve.
  27. abstract
    not representing or imitating external reality
    The Germanus hit the opposite wall with such force, he broke into a starburst of yellow powder and left a beautiful abstract expressionist statement across the bricks.
  28. obscurity
    an unimportant and not well known standing
    “I saved you from obscurity. I was a second father to you. I gave you purpose!”
  29. unscathed
    not injured
    He and Hunter Kowalski now stood unscathed in the middle of a mosaic of fallen glass shards.
  30. fetching
    very attractive; capturing interest
    Her new gray highlights from my solar blast looked quite fetching.
  31. culminate
    end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage
    Then, the culminating horror, she spewed forth a rhyming couplet:
    When three are known and Tiber reached alive,
    'Tis only then Apollo starts to jive.
  32. iambic
    of metrical units having an unstressed/stressed pattern
    But a full Shakespearean sonnet, complete with ABAB rhyme scheme, ending couplet, and iambic pentameter?
  33. desiccate
    lose water or moisture
    Their bodies desiccate when their spirits pass on, leaving only fur, feathers, and hollow bones.
  34. consign
    commit forever
    May the Fates consign all root vegetables to the depths of Tartarus.
  35. voracious
    devouring or craving food in great quantities
    My young friend's appetite was even more voracious than usual.
  36. incur
    make oneself subject to
    The only gods who had shown me any sort of favor were Artemis and Britomartis, but I couldn’t expect them to do more—not without them incurring punishment as bad as what Zeus had done to me.
  37. exorbitant
    greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
    Besides, even attempting this would put innocent mortals at risk of monster attacks, death by lightning bolt, and exorbitant data-plan overage fees.
  38. copacetic
    completely satisfactory
    “That’s copacetic,” Leo said. “You’ve done enough for us, T.”
  39. immaculate
    completely neat and clean
    He was immaculate in his brown suit, completely unscathed from the morning’s battle.
  40. overbearing
    expecting unquestioning obedience
    “We share common ground—we’re both sons of overbearing fathers, and we’ve been misled and burdened by bad choices, but we’re talented in our chosen ways.”
Created on Sat Sep 03 17:19:02 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Feb 03 10:10:05 EST 2023)

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