Abel's Island: Chapters 15–20

by William Steig
While picnicking with his wife, Abelard Hassam di Chirico Flint, a mouse of Mossville, is swept away by a stormy river onto an island, where he must figure out how to survive and return home.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–14, Chapters 15–20
40 words 5 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. vocation
    the particular occupation for which you are trained
    Once Gower asked Abel what his trade or profession was. “I haven’t found my vocation yet,” Abel answered. “The only real work I’ve ever done has been here on this island.”
  2. frayed
    worn away or tattered along the edges
    “I’m quite well off.”
    Gower grinned. “You sure don't look it,” he commented, surveying Abel’s frayed trousers and stained, tattered shirt.
  3. torpor
    a state of motor and mental inactivity
    Gower did not move. He was in one of his reptilian torpors again.
  4. trifle
    a small amount
    “Could you raise your head a trifle?” he asked again.
  5. stupefied
    in a state of mental numbness as resulting from shock
    It was the best Abel had ever done, a perfect representation of stupefied repose.
  6. repose
    freedom from activity
    It was the best Abel had ever done, a perfect representation of stupefied repose.
  7. opine
    express one's view openly and without fear or hesitation
    “I think you’ve found your vocation,” opined Gower.
  8. casual
    without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand
    His manner seemed less than casual.
    “What’s up?” Abel inquired.
  9. headway
    forward movement
    And then Gower was off and swimming, a strong breast stroke, making lateral headway but also being carried downstream, until he disappeared, at least from sight.
  10. elaborate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    He began to make sculptures of plants, and the more elaborate he made them, the more it distracted his mind.
  11. rambling
    winding or meandering
    He went on long, rambling walks.
  12. leach
    use a liquid to dissolve out or remove a substance
    He had surely succeeded in crossing the river, but somewhere along the watery way his memory of a mouse named Abel had leached out.
  13. mystical
    relating to communion with an ultimate reality
    Abel looked at Gower’s statue and had new insight into the mystical expression on his face. He realized that
if Gower was not drilled into remembering the everyday world, it became a dream that faded from mind as he dwelled on the ultimate reality beyond it.
  14. mite
    a slight but appreciable amount
    For weeks it hadn’t rained and the river looked a bit slower, a mite shallower.
  15. wispy
    thin and weak
    He removed the scarf from his neck and let the birch feel its wispy softness.
  16. vivacity
    high spirits and animation
    Dreaminess and vivacity, what a wonderful combination of qualities!
  17. idle
    not in action or at work
    How much her brisk, graceful bustling had enlivened his idle days! How often, when he’d been lying on the sofa at home, wondering what to make of his life, her mere passing through the room had cheered him up.
  18. torrid
    extremely hot
    He was glad the sun was so fierce and burning. He slept on the ground outside his log and was happy to wake every morning to a bright, torrid day.
  19. diminish
    decrease in size, extent, or range
    The first thing he did on waking was to look at the river. Its flow was clearly diminished. A few sand bars had become visible, and dry rocks showed that had previously been under water.
  20. tarnish
    make or become dirty or dull, as by exposure to air
    But, beyond, the green looked tarnished and the tops of the distant wooded hills were turning brown.
  21. tarry
    stay longer than you should
    The ticking watch urged him not to tarry.
  22. sustenance
    a source of food or nourishment
    The island had been his home for a full year. It had given him sustenance, guidance, warmth, like a parent.
  23. wiry
    lean but strong
    He was wiry-strong after his rugged year in the wilds.
  24. fettle
    a state of fitness and good health
    The Abel who was leaving was in better fettle, in all ways, than the Abel who had arrived in a hurricane, desperately clinging to a nail.
  25. sodden
    wet through and through; thoroughly wet
    He stopped swimming, lay with his arms and legs outstretched, face to the heavens, and let himself be carried along for a while. With a sodden thump, he again found a rock.
  26. welt
    a raised or strengthened seam
    He was on a gravelly welt of raised river bed.
  27. apprehension
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    As to what was to come, he began to be disturbed by vague apprehensions. What was he really walking toward? Would Amanda be home? Had things changed during his year of exile?
  28. dally
    waste time
    Having no wish to dally, he continued steadily northward.
  29. cataract
    a large waterfall; violent rush of water over a precipice
    When he climbed the steep hill alongside the waterfall, he was amazed that he had traveled over this cataract when it was much mightier, and had survived.
  30. culmination
    a concluding action
    Was this the culmination of all his plans, all his yearning, all his work, all his waiting, for a long, long year?
  31. imminent
    close in time; about to occur
    Abel felt she was being much too casual about his imminent end, as though it were only one of many she had contrived.
  32. contrive
    make or work out a plan for; devise
    Abel felt she was being much too casual about his imminent end, as though it were only one of many she had contrived.
  33. caterwaul
    make a shrill and unpleasant screeching sound
    It bent like a bow when she struck it, swung back, swayed, and shook in his grasp, and he could hear the cat drop, hitting branches as she fell, yowling and screaming in pain and amazement. He heard the thud as she struck the ground, and her crazy caterwauling as she shot off in utter confusion.
  34. bearing
    the direction or path along which something moves or lies
    In the light of morning, taking his bearings, he was overjoyed to see Mt. Eunice to the northwest. The fire observatory was on the side visible to him, and at last he knew where he was.
  35. cleft
    split or divided
    By late afternoon he was on rocky ground cleft with ravines.
  36. exertion
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    Abel’s heart pounded with his exertions and excitement.
  37. romp
    play boisterously
    It was a hot night, and the park was full of townsfolk, outdoors after dinner to keep cool, strolling on the graveled walks, chatting on the benches, laughing, watching the children romp and frisk about.
  38. cravat
    a scarf or band of cloth worn around the neck
    He donned his best silk shirt, his purple cravat, his brown velvet jacket with the braided lapels.
  39. lapel
    a fold of fabric below the collar of a coat or jacket
    He donned his best silk shirt, his purple cravat, his brown velvet jacket with the braided lapels.
  40. plush
    characterized by extravagance and softness
    Now, smiling, he put Amanda’s scarf on the taboret in the entrance hall where she could see it when she entered, then went into the parlor and lay down on the plush sofa, his paws behind his head, his heart full of bold expectations.
Created on Tue Apr 16 13:13:26 EDT 2024 (updated Wed Apr 17 12:58:03 EDT 2024)

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.