Clarice the Brave: List 5

by Lisa McMann
Clarice and Charles Sebastian are sister and brother mice who are fearfully huddling together on a ship, until a mutiny separates them and forces them to fight to survive.

This list covers "A New Direction"–"One Day by the Sea."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. daunting
    discouraging through fear
    Navigating something for the first time is not only daunting, but causes mild panic.
  2. bolster
    support and strengthen
    But by now I was getting the hang of transportation, and that bolstered me.
  3. modest
    humble in spirit or manner
    “We’ll help you. But don’t you want a larger ship?”
    “We cannot afford to charter one,” Lucía said modestly.
  4. snub
    an instance of driving away or warding off
    She wasn’t over the snub. I wanted to shake my head at her, but I didn’t. She finally had a taste of what it was like to be an unwanted creature.
  5. pique
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    Charles Sebastian stayed still, willing her to continue, for she’d piqued his interest.
  6. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    As the storm wailed and the ship careened and thudded and the forgotten prisoner cried out for help, exhaustion overtook the mouse.
  7. inert
    unable to move or resist motion
    She raised the sails and pointed us in the proper direction, then immediately lay down again, inert upon the bench.
  8. unfathomable
    impossible to come to understand
    The thought of snuggling up to a cat was unfathomable, yet, feeling as I did, I couldn’t resist the yearning.
  9. hearty
    endowed with or exhibiting great bodily or mental health
    And whenever those fears and doubts popped up, I started to think of all the things that could go wrong on the ship for him. I was the heartier of the two, and I’d nearly expired multiple times.
  10. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    She stepped gingerly, sniffing at plants, her sharp eyes searching for anything odd or moving.
  11. charter
    engage for service under a term of contract
    I let my mind go wild, imagining chartering a tiny ship of my own, made of half a coconut shell, with a stick for a mast and a leaf for a sail.
  12. scant
    less than the correct or legal or full amount
    That night, while Tembe and Lucía slept under a scant lean-to they’d built, Special Lady and I roamed the beach and the forest.
  13. reverberate
    be reflected as heat, sound, or light or shock waves
    We visited the spot where the waterfall landed and had a refreshing drink. From a smooth stone nearby, I could feel the impact of that hard, deadly water reverberate in my chest, trying to rattle something awake inside me.
  14. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    If I knew my brother, he’d have given up long before now.
    I chided myself for thinking like that.
  15. squall
    sudden violent winds, often accompanied by precipitation
    Their lean-to, set far back from the beach, grew into a shelter that kept out the occasional squall.
  16. abate
    become less in amount or intensity
    The more days that went by, the more worried and anxious Lucía became. But then at some point, her worry abated.
  17. threshold
    the starting point for a new state or experience
    Perhaps there was a magical number of days that had to pass in order for humans to free themselves of guilt. I had no idea, but they appeared to have reached the threshold.
  18. inkling
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    There was something about the fragile sprouts first poking up from the earth, all wrinkled and newborn, that renewed an inkling of hope in me.
  19. saucy
    alluring or suggestive in a playful or pert way
    The cat grinned saucily, and her tail curled up and over her back. “I can’t let all the mice go, now, can I? What kind of cat would I be if I started introducing mice to each other?”
  20. ensign
    colors flown by a ship to show its nationality
    “Can you see the ensign?” Tembe prompted impatiently.
    After a moment, she slowly lowered the glass and looked at him, her face unreadable. “The flag is in tatters. But I’m sure it’s the Carlotta coming our way at last.”
  21. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    But a huge question surfaced right away: If the Carlotta dropped anchor, how would we get Charles Sebastian here? That was followed immediately by the ever-present and more ominous question: Was Charles Sebastian still alive?
  22. ebb
    flow back or recede
    As the boat ebbed and flowed with the waves near the shore, she approached the water as if she were stepping on quicksand.
  23. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    “She needs to know her half brother is dead.”
    Thomas blanched.
  24. hunker down
    take shelter
    The sailors were miserable, and without shelters on the island, many of them went back to the ship to hunker down in their cabins until the storm passed.
  25. deluge
    a heavy rain
    No doubt the birds were as hungry as I was after the deluge.
  26. remnant
    a small part remaining after the main part no longer exists
    She licked the storm remnants from her fur. Bits of bark and sand were everywhere, and she smelled of the steamy earth.
  27. vindictive
    showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt
    “Now Marigold will think I’m greedy or vindictive, stealing her mouse. She’ll hold a grudge for a long time.”
  28. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    Over the lower decks they scuttled, twisting and turning through passageways and down another flight of stairs.
  29. permeate
    spread or diffuse through
    They all carried an amount of uneasiness with them—it permeated their clothing and filled the air, and it left me looking over my shoulder constantly, as if they were forecasting the next horrible event.
  30. brood
    think moodily or anxiously about something
    When Special Lady and I retreated to our tree after that discourse with Charles Sebastian, she only stayed a moment before leaving me alone to brood.
  31. perseverance
    persistent determination
    Instinct, perseverance, luck, and a friendship with a cat had led me here, where Charles Sebastian came to arrive.
  32. gumption
    fortitude and determination
    My brother was quaking, yet he somehow found the gumption to proceed.
  33. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    Smoke filled the air. The acrid stench was sudden and almost overpowering.
  34. elated
    full of high-spirited delight
    I was elated to have my brother curled up with me again.
  35. dote
    shower with love; show excessive affection for
    After a pause, I added, “You were pretty helpless, though.”
    “Why not, when everyone doted on me?”
  36. ruffian
    a cruel and brutal fellow
    We bounded up the nearest tree, but the melon-colored ruffian didn’t try to harm us.
  37. aloof
    distant, cold, or detached in manner
    She tried to act aloof, but I could see she was shaken.
  38. brazen
    not held back by conventional ideas of behavior
    Then he stopped and stared up at her; a bold and brazen move.
  39. intricate
    having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
    Special Lady watched as Marigold chased down the path toward the beach, completely wrecking the sailors’ intricate plan to hide everything by announcing her presence to whoever approached.
  40. scalawag
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    The sunset scalawag might be the best mouser, but Special Lady had the brains of the family.
Created on Tue Oct 18 21:18:08 EDT 2022 (updated Mon Sep 11 18:39:28 EDT 2023)

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