A Monster Calls Vocabulary

To billow / billowing is a verb meaning

• to fill with air and spread outwards, eg. 'the sails billowed in the breeze'.

• to make low, unhappy noise, eg. 'the cows billowed noisily in the morning'.

• to flap wildly, eg. 'the flags on the roof were billowing'.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

torso is a noun meaning

• a kind of bread eaten in Slovenia, eg. 'they dipped the torso into their soup and ate greedily'.

• a kind of dance with fast leg movements, often performed in small groups, eg. 'they danced the torso well into the night'.

• the trunk of a human body without head or limbs, eg. 'The sculpture was a human torso made from bronze'.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

to encompass is a verb meaning

• to find your way across open countryside, eg. 'they encompassed the field together, not sure if they were heading in the right direction'.

• to form a circle around things, eg 'she lifted her arms to encompass his neck'

• to put a burden on someone else / to hassle them, eg. 'I don't mean to encompass you, but could I borrow a pen please?'

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.L.9-10.5B

gnarled is

• an adjective meaning knobbly, rough and twisted, especially with age, eg. 'gnarled apple trees grew along the road'.

• a verb meaning to speak in an aggressive voice, eg. 'she was in such a bad mood that she gnarled at everyone that morning'.

• an adjective meaning run-down and a little broken, eg. 'we came across a gnarled shed with holes in the roof and the walls'.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

to succumb is a verb meaning

• to briefly choke on something, eg. 'I succumbed on my sandwich when I saw what they were wearing'.

• to make a sweet last for ages, eg. 'I succumbed my sweet for hours, making it last for much longer than my brother's'.

• to give in to something, especially temptation, eg. 'Dad was always on a diet, but he always succumbed to pizza'.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

CCSS.L.9-10.5

sceptical is

• a noun meaning an instrument used by doctors to remove thorns / splinters etc, eg. 'using a sceptical, he gently extracted the thorn from her finger'.

• an adjective meaning someone who doubts the truth, eg. 'they were sceptical about the politicians' promises'.

• an adjective meaning someone who trusts too easily, eg. 'his sceptical nature meant that people often took advantage of him'.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

countenance is a noun meaning

• someone's face or facial expression, eg. 'the man's countenance made him appear older than he actually was'.

• an old fashioned calculator that was used to measure the area of farm land, eg. 'he walked across the field with his countenance'.

• somebody's attitude towards something, eg. 'his countenance was clear: he did not like the arrangement'.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

ominous is an adjective meaning

• the impression that something bad is going to happen, eg. 'The sky darkened ominously'.

• really furious about something, eg. 'the man was clearly ominous: he stormed out of the door, slamming it behind him'.

• something containing more than one episode or book, eg, 'the comics had been collected into one large ominous'.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

to relent is a verb meaning

• to throw something very far with great power, eg. 'he relented the javelin across the field with a force never seen before'.

• to give in when something is difficult, eg. 'the questions were too hard so I just closed the exam paper and relented'.

• to give in to a request, eg. 'I had been asking for a pocket money raise for ages and Mum finally relented'.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

destruction

• a verb meaning to take something apart, especially with the intention of fixing it, eg 'the watchmaker destructed the watch carefully'.

• is a noun meaning the act of destroying something, eg. 'the destruction from the storm was everywhere'.

• is a noun meaning the act of building something back up, eg. 'after the storm, a programme of destruction was needed'.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A