“Animal Farm”
Vocabulary for Chapter 1
1. hen – a female chicken
2. lantern – a hand-carried light similar to a flashlight but the light comes from a
flame
3. lurch – to move suddenly and not very smoothly
4. snoring – breathing very loudly while sleeping
5. a stirring – movement
6. regarded – respected
7. ensconced – to be seated or settled securely
8. to flutter – to move wings quickly
9. a mare – a female horse
10. tremendous – a lot of
11. feeble – weak
12. mane – long hair on a horse’s neck
13. to purr – the sound cats make when they are happy
14. to acquire – to gain or get
15. porker – slang word for pig
16. resolute – not changing or giving up
17. pond – a small lake
18. uproar – a loud sound
19. rebellion – the act of fighting against the leadership or government
20. comrade – a friend; a companion. This word was commonly used by communists
in the Soviet Union.
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Animal Farm Vocabulary List
Chapter 2
1. orchard – a group of fruit trees. We’re going to the apple orchard near our home.
2. fierce – very violent. There was a fierce snowstorm in Alaska last night.
3. vivacious – lively; full of life. She was a vivacious personality. She never seems
tired or sad.
4. nimble – quick and agile. I cannot catch the mouse because it is so nimble.
5. elaborate – to give more details or information about something. I don’t
completely understand your argument. Can you elaborate?
6. devoted – dedicated; having strong feelings of devotion. He’s devoted to his
wife.
7. absorb – to learn; acquire. I’m trying to absorb what my math teacher taught us.
8. idle – not doing anything; not moving. My car was idle for some time.
9. underfed – not given enough food. The mother makes sure her children are not
underfed.
10. torment – to give pain to someone. The jailor tormented the prisoner every day.
11. fling – to throw. He flung the ball over the fence.
12. scent – smell. The flower had a wonderful scent.
13. admiration – respect. He has great admiration for his wife.
14. unanimous – everyone agrees. The decision was unanimous.
15. rubbish – trash; something worthless. Your idea is rubbish! I completely
disagree with it.
16. unalterable – cannot be changed. The driving rules are unalterable. You can’t
change them.
17. nod – to move your head, usually to show that you agree. I nodded in agreement.
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“Animal Farm” Vocabulary List
Chapter 3
1. implements – tools. They used several different implements to prepare the
ground.
2. drawback – problem or negative point. There are several drawbacks to living in
Los Angeles, one of which is the traffic.
3. toil – to do hard work. The farmer toiled all day.
4. conceive – to think. I had never conceived of much time this new job would
require.
5. acute – sharp; sensitive; very serious. The man had an acute illness for several
weeks.
6. grudge – to give with reluctance; not wanting to give. He grudgingly gave me the
money that he owed me.
7. mighty – strong. He has mighty arms.
8. grumble – complain. I hate it when he grumbles about the food that I cook.
9. quarrel – to fight or argue. She often quarrels with her sister.
10. obstinate – stubborn, determined to have one’s own way. The obstinate boy did
not listen to his parents.
11. content – satisfied. I am content with the amount of money that I make.
12. cryptic – difficult to know; secretive. I didn’t understand his answer because it
was so cryptic.
13. overthrow – to remove the leaders from power. Right now, some people want to
overthrow the government.
14. generosity – the act of giving a lot. She gives millions of dollars to poor people;
her generosity is amazing!
15. grasp – understand. I’m trying to grasp my math homework.
16. manipulate – change for one’s own purposes. The dictator uses the television
news to manipulate the people.
17. sturdy – strong. The table is not very sturdy, so you shouldn’t put a lot of heavy
things on it.
18. murmur – complain. The students murmured because of the difficult homework.
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“Animal Farm” Vocabulary List
Chapter 4
1. mingle – mix with; take part with. The single man tried to mingle with the
beautiful girls at the party.
2. tune – song; attitude. I don’t like the way you are talking to me. You had better
change your tune.
3. monstrous – frightening like a monster; horrible; very big. His first day at work
was a monstrous failure.
4. misfortune – bad luck. Because of my misfortune, I no longer have any money.
5. shrewd – clever; smart. The lawyer was very shrewd.
6. scorn – to treat as unworthy; despise, hate. Life was difficult for me in that city,
so I scorned the day I first stayed there.
7. flourish – prosperous; everywhere; abundant. Flowers are flourishing on the hill.
8. vague – not clear. Your answer was vague. Could you elaborate on it?
9. irrepressible – cannot be stopped. He’s so vivacious, and his smile is
irrepressible.
10. vicious – cruel. The man hit the dog viciously.
11. skirmish – a small fight or battle. The two armies skirmished for several minutes.
In the example sentence, the verb form was used.
12. triumph – victory. The army triumphed over its enemy.
13. dash – to run quickly. He dashed toward the exit.
14. vengeance – to repay someone for doing something bad. He took vengeance on
his enemy and beat him viciously.
15. intention – plan or purpose. It’s my intention to finish college next year.
16. solemn – serious. You need to be solemn in court.
17. recount – stating what happened in the past. He’s recounting what happened to
the police right now.
18. stun – shock. The monstrous news stunned me.
“Animal Farm” Vocabulary List
Chapter 5
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1.
pretext -- a false reason for doing something, in order to hide the real reason. He
left the house under the pretext that he needed to get some food. However, he
really left so that he could buy his wife a gift.
2. blithely – seemingly not caring or worrying about the effects of what you do.
They blithely ignored the teacher’s warning.
3. stroke – to move your hand gently over something. She stroked her son’s hair.
4. whereabouts – the place where someone or something is; location. I don’t know
his whereabouts. He may be in the Humanities Building.
5. manifestly – obviously. She manifestly showed her dislike of his behavior.
6. ratified – made a written agreement official by signing it. The constitution was
ratified on December 1st.
7. dispute – disagreement. There was a dispute over who should get the money.
8. declare -- to state officially and publicly that something is happening or that it is
true. The governor declared today a holiday.
9. Canvassing – trying to persuade people to support a political party, politician, or
plan by going around and talking to people. The president of the club is
canvassing support for her idea.
10. Bleat – the sound sheep make. When I visited my uncle’s farm, I heard the sheep
constantly bleating.
11. crucial – important; vital. It was a crucial decision.
12. innovation – the introduction of new ideas, methods, or inventions. The Internet
was an amazing innovation.
13. scheme – a plan, especially to do something bad or illegal. It is a scheme to trick
us into paying more money than we should.
14. biding time – waiting for the right time to do something. It looks like he is doing
nothing, but he is actually biding his time.
15. Primitive – very simple, uncomfortable, or without modern features. The hotel
room was primitive, so they didn’t like it.
16. astonishment – great surprise. The video of the young pig escaping from the lion
was met with astonishment.
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17. contemplate – think seriously for a long time over something you plan to do or
want to understand. I spent hours contemplating my decision.
18. factions – small groups of people within a larger group who have different ideas
from the other members.
19. procure -- to get something, especially something that is difficult to get. She is
trying to procure more gold.
20. advocating – strongly supporting something. The students are advocating a
reduction in the amount of tuition.
21. eloquence – the ability to express ideas, opinions, or feelings clearly, in a way that
influences other people. She is known for eloquence.
22. bounding – moving quickly and with a lot of energy. The dogs were bounding
towards their owner when I saw them.
23. expulsion – the official act of making someone leave a place. His expulsion from
the school made him feel very embarrassed and ashamed.
24. articulate -- able to express your thoughts and feelings clearly. He is an
articulate man.
25. menacing -- making you expect something dangerous or bad; threatening. They
gave him a menacing look.
26. tactics -- skillfully planned actions used for achieving something. The boxer isn’t
very fast, but his tactics help him win his fights.
“Animal Farm” Vocabulary List
Chapter 6
1. utilize – to use. I utilize my brother to help me with my homework.
2. boulder – a big rock. The mountains is covered with boulders.
3. critical – very important; essential. It is critical that you answer this question
correctly.
4. despair – a feeling of no hope. I fell into despair after she rejected me.
5. extravagant – spending or costing too much money. We ate dinner at an
extravagant restaurant.
6. artificial – man-made; not natural. The soda was full of artificial flavors.
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7. procure – to get something, especially something that is difficult to get.
8. expel – to kick out. The principal expelled the bad student.
9. urgent – something needing immediate attention. There is an urgent message on
my answering machine.
10. faint – weak. I feel faint today because I didn’t eat breakfast or lunch.
11. reconcile – to have a good relationship with someone after fighting or arguing
with that person. The husband is trying to reconcile with his wife.
12. simultaneously – at the same time. She did her homework and listened to music
simultaneously.
13. dignity – calm, serious behavior that makes people respect you. The queen has a
lot of dignity.
14. indignation – anger caused by a feeling of being insulted or unfairly treated. I
was indignant because the teacher called me a liar.
“Animal Farm”
Chapter 7 Vocabulary List
1. rejoice – to show joy or to feel joy. I rejoiced when I heard that there was no final
exam in the class.
2. envious – feeling that you want something that another person has. I’m envious
of you because you are so smart.
3. out of spite – to do something in anger. I told him a lie out of spite for him.
4. drastic – extreme and sudden. There has been a drastic change in her behavior.
She’s now very friendly.
5. emerge – to appear after being hidden. The moon emerged from behind the
cloud.
6. capitulate – to stop fighting someone and accept his/her demands. The soldiers
capitulated and gave their guns to the enemy.
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7. rumor – information passed from one person to another that may not be true. I
heard a rumor that Matt is really rich.
8. prompt – quick. I need a prompt answer to my question.
9. panic – a sudden feeling of fear or anxiety that makes you do things without
thinking. The students panicked when they heard that the final exam is a week
away.
10. detect – to notice or discover something, especially something that is not easy to
see, hear, etc. I detect the smell of food. Is someone cooking?
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