Anesthetic

(noun) a drug that causes temporary loss of bodily sensations.

“ it was like taking an anesthetic…”

Apathetically(adv) Showing little or no emotion.

As he looked apathetically about him….

Appease (adv.) cause to be more favorably inclined

The warmth and security of the animal angered him, and he cursed it till it flattened down its ears

appeasingly.

Appendage

(n) An external body part that projects from the body.

“He did not mind the appendage.”

Bough

(n) Any of the larger branches of a tree

“High up in the tree one bough capsized its load of snow.”

Brimstone

(noun) an old name for sulphur

But the burning brimstone went up his nostrils causing him to cough

spasmodically

Bristle(verb) to rise up as in fear

“This made the animal bristle and back away.”

Capsize

(verb) To overturn accidentally

High up in the tree one bough capsized its load of snow.

Chide

(verb) censure severely or angrily

bawl out

lifting and shifting of forefeet, it whined softly, then flattened its

ears down in anticipation of being chidden by the man

Conception(noun) A general understanding or thought

of something

“He sat up and entertained in his mind the conception of meeting death with dignity.”

Conflagration

(N.) A very intense, and uncontrolled fire.

“..and the moccasin strings were like rods of steel all twisted and knotted as by some

conflagration.”

Conjectural

(adj.): Based primarily on surmise rather than adequate evidence

“It did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, and upon man's frailty in

general, able only to live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold; and from there on it did

not lead him to the conjectural field of immortality and man's place in the universe.”

A conjectural painting Andrea Palladio

Customary

(adj.) Usual for somebody or characteristic of somebody’s usual behavior.

“When he spoke peremptorily, with the sound of whip-lashes in his voice, the dog rendered its

customary allegiance and came to him.”

Ebb(v.) the flowing backward of water

or decline of something

“his strength ebbed, his eyes glazed, and he knew nothing when the train

was flagged…”

Excruciate

(v) to torment emotionally or mentally, subject to torture.

The faint tingling grew stronger till it evolved into a stinging ache that was excruciating, but

which the man hailed with satisfaction.

Flotsam

(noun) the floating wreckage of a ship

“Next he gathered the dry grasses and tiny twigs from the high-water

flotsam”

Flounder(verb) Walk with great difficulty

Suddenly it broke through, floundered to one side, and got away

to firmer footing.

Frailty

(n.) The state of being weak in health or body (especially from old age).

“It did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty…”

Imperceptible (adj.) impossible or difficult to perceive by the mind

or senses.

Each time he had pulled a twig he had communicated a slight agitation to the tree -- an imperceptible agitation, so far as he was concerned, but an agitation sufficient to bring

about the disaster.

Intangible(adj.) Not capable of being perceived by the sense

of touch.

“It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things.”

Jowl

(n.) the jaw in vertebrates that is hinged to open the mouth.

“The frozen moisture of its breathing had settled on its fur in a fine powder or frost, especially where its jowls, muzzle, and eyelashes whitened by its

crystalled breath.”

Manipulation

(noun) the action of touching with the hands ( or the skillful use of the hands) or by the use of

mechanical means

“ After some manipulation, he managed to get the bunch between the heels of his mittened hands”

Methodically

(adv) Done according to a systematic or established form of procedure.

“He worked methodically, even collecting an armful of the larger branches to be used later when the fire gathered strength.”

Mincingly

(adv) Affectedly dainty or delicate

“This unusual posture again exited suspicion, and the animal sidled

mincingly away…”

Monotonously

(adv) Lacking in variety; in a repeated manner

“So he continued monotonously to chew tobacco and to increase the length of his amber beard.”

Pall(n.) something that covers/spreads over

darkness or gloom

“…the land numb and frozen under its pall of snow.”

Peremptorily

(adv) In a imperative and commanding manner

“His erect position in itself started to drive the webs of suspicion from the dog's mind; and when he spoke peremptorily, with the sound of whip-

lashes in his voice…”

Poignant

(adj.) Keenly distressing to the mind or feelings/ Arousing affect

“This fear quickly became poignant as he realized that…it was a matter of

life and death…

Reiterate

(v) To say, state, or perform again

“Once in a while the thought reiterated itself…”

Sidle

(v) to move obtrusively or furtively, move sideways.

“This unusual posture again excited suspicion, and the animal sidled mincingly

away.”

Smite

(verb) To affect suddenly with deep feeling

“He did not expose his fingers more than a minute, and was astonished at the swift numbness

that smote them.”

Speculatively

(Adv) theoretical, rather than practical

“As he turned to go, he spat speculatively.”

Spittle

(n) A clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches.

“And again, in the air before it could fall to the snow, the spittle crackled…”

Temperamental

(adj) Subject to sharply varying moods

“At the man’s heels trotted a dog, a big native husky, the proper wolf-dog, gray-coated and without any temperamental difference from its brother, the wild wolf.”

Throttle

(V.) Kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off air.

“ With his helpless hands he could neither draw or hold his sheath-knife nor throttle the animal”

Totter

(V.) To move without being stable, as if threatening to fall.

“Several times he stumbled, and finally he tottered, crumpled up, and

fell.”

Undulation

(noun) wavelike motion; a gentle rising and falling in the manner of waves

“It was pure white, rolling in gentle undulations where ice-jams of the freeze-up

had formed.”

Unwonted

(adj.) Out of the ordinary

“... and that made it question eagerly every unwonted movement of the man…”

Wistfulness

(noun) a sadly pensive longing

“And all the while the dog sat and watched him, a certain yearning wistfulness in its eyes, for it

looked upon him as the fire-provider, and the fire was slow in coming.”

Yearn (verb) desire strongly or persistently

The dog was disappointed and yearned back toward the fire.