Hunting by Stars: Chapters 18–22

by Cherie Dimaline
After a plague of dreamlessness spreads across North America, seventeen-year-old Frenchie is captured so the Canadian government can harvest his bone marrow as a cure. Frenchie must find a way to escape and reunite with his found family.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–17, Chapters 18–22, Chapters 23–29, Chapter 30–Epilogue/Prologue

Click here to explore our lists for The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline.
40 words 23 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. trill
    sing or play alternating with the half note above or below
    By the time they’d finished their glasses of bitter mash and listened to a few of the women trill a thin backup to his version of a welcome song, Rose knew that the Chief ran his house with an iron fist hidden in a sleazy silk glove.
  2. peruse
    examine or consider with attention and in detail
    When he got up to “peruse the pantry,” the assembly moved with him.
  3. ascertain
    learn or determine by making an inquiry or other effort
    Through a dozen inquiries, Rose was able to ascertain that back on the rez, the Chief had cooperated with the new government until his own safety was compromised, and by then he’d betrayed so many people, sending them out as “volunteers,” that there was no one left who would shield him.
  4. liberal
    having political views favoring reform and progress
    The Wives were all the women he’d collected since they’d been on the lam, the ones who were too “liberal” to take part in the marrow consumption but too ingrained in the system to find a different way to survive.
  5. discreet
    heedful of potential consequences
    She had taken a quick and discreet stroll around the living room, looking for weapons and clocking the exits, just in case.
  6. pallid
    pale, as of a person's complexion
    “It’s okay, Robin. One day you’ll be chosen,” the one known as Wren consoled her, but with an odd smirk on her pallid face.
  7. innocuous
    not injurious to physical or mental health
    They extended from her skeleton, poking through her flesh as innocuously as birthday candles on a cake—no blood, no pain.
  8. festoon
    decorate or adorn
    When this happened, the thread dragged behind her, collecting dry leaves and hollow insect casings so that she sounded like a wedding car festooned with ribbons and cans when she walked.
  9. pensive
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    It slowed her down, made her unbalanced so that she leaned into her walk, one side tense and pensive, the other slack and excited. It made her uneasy, changed the tone of her thoughts, made her stutter over words and steps.
  10. cherub
    an angel portrayed as a winged child
    She tiptoed past the sleeping Wives, curled into their blankets like doped-up cherubs, their fingers intertwined, their hair loose over arms they used as pillows.
  11. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    She tripped across the threshold and stumbled into the hallway.
  12. platonic
    free from physical desire
    It was even creepier because it had recently become very clear that the Chief’s relationships with these women were not platonic.
  13. matron
    a married woman who is staid and dignified
    “Grouse is the matron.” He pointed opposite him to the older woman sitting beside Rose.
  14. jaunt
    a journey taken for pleasure
    He had started taking little jaunts around the room, but the infection made him tired and weak.
  15. hackles
    a feeling of anger and animosity
    “Well, try to stay awake tonight, and let me know what happens. They don’t let me in here, so my hackles are up.”
  16. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    Rose mulled this over, rubbing the sleep out of her eye.
  17. fawn
    try to gain favor through flattery or deferential behavior
    Everyone was in a better mood, even Nam, who relaxed on the couch with an old comic about an awkward redheaded boy with two attractive girls inexplicably fawning all over him.
  18. pontificate
    talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner
    “There is nothing forced about this garden. It is exactly as the Creator wants it to be. Who am I to tell him how to grow his gifts?” the Chief cut her off to pontificate.
  19. condescending
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    Rose hated this kind of man, this kind of overexplaining, condescending man.
  20. goad
    provoke as by constant criticism
    She paused by the stone path, angry the Chief had goaded her into popping off, just like a firecracker, but continuing nonetheless.
  21. reedy
    thin and high-pitched in tone
    Rose visited with Derrick when the Chief pulled out his drum in the living room and asked for volunteers to join in a song, which every Wife jumped at with their reedy voices and exaggerated gestures.
  22. mirth
    great merriment
    “No idea. Maybe they just want to touch my sweet abs while I’m under,” he tried to joke, but the reality was too creepy for real mirth.
  23. missive
    a written message addressed to a person or organization
    I wasn’t supposed to know them, but some of those who still had voices had whispered them to me the first few days, missives pushed through the metal delivery slots where I slid in the plastic trays.
  24. flourish
    an ornamental embellishment in writing
    Maybe they weren’t written on paper or signed with a flourish.
  25. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
    They didn’t need my shallow platitudes.
  26. installment
    a single part of a television or movie serial
    It was like listening to the most boring story ever told, but like a TV show when you only have one channel, I got used to it and even started to look forward to the installments.
  27. subservient
    compliant and obedient to authority
    It was best to remain neutral, if not subservient, at all times when addressing the Watchmen, who were always looking for any excuse.
  28. barrage
    the rapid and continuous delivery of communication
    As a member of the Council, he tried to help Bullet with what was bound to be a barrage of concerns.
  29. congenial
    friendly and pleasant
    The Council meeting had been heated, and she wasn’t really in a congenial mood right now.
  30. resolute
    firm in purpose or belief
    His voice wavered between resolute and broken. “We need to do that for other children, for all our relatives who may need us. We need to be strong; we are the stronghold in the north that people are looking for, and we need to move so it stays that way.”
  31. periphery
    the outside boundary or surface of something
    Miig was finishing up Story, so they waited on the periphery for him to finish before intruding.
  32. malignant
    dangerous to health
    The wasp sting of capitalism was left to grow malignant without proper care. And wasps can keep on stinging once they begin.
  33. desolate
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    Minutes during which she imagined what might be happening to French, to Derrick, to herself, scenarios that ended with them dried out like corn husk dolls, discarded in different desolate rooms on different stained mattresses.
  34. concubine
    a woman who cohabits with an important man
    It’s not gonna help you and your sick concubines.
  35. pilfer
    make off with belongings of others
    Rose had asked them to start pilfering things, slow and easy, one at a time, things they would need when they made a break for it.
  36. blasphemous
    grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred
    “Not to be blasphemous, but we barely scrape by now.”
  37. supplication
    a humble request for help from someone in authority
    The Chief dropped blood into Owl’s mouth, and she swooned in supplication, the back of her head lightly touching the floor before she pulled herself back up.
  38. garb
    clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
    Each one slept in their white garb, so still they turned to shrouds.
  39. revulsion
    intense aversion
    Nam kept their eyes wide open and bore the revulsion of his touch by emptying everything of value from their mind, from their skin, leaving nothing for him to reach, not like before.
  40. pomp
    ceremonial elegance and splendor
    Some gurgling, a gasp or two, the cacophony of a blind stumble into chamber pots around midnight, but all in all, it was without the pomp of the usual household ceremony.
Created on Tue Sep 20 16:12:21 EDT 2022 (updated Tue Oct 04 13:40:31 EDT 2022)

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.