Key Words (PDF)

## Key Words - **Time Connective:** A word or phrase used to show how events in a story are sequenced and linked by time. For example: 'then', 'next', 'before', 'after'. - **Gruesome:** Causing horror. - **Antagonist:** A character who creates problems in a story; a 'bad' character who stands in...

## Key Words - **Time Connective:** A word or phrase used to show how events in a story are sequenced and linked by time. For example: 'then', 'next', 'before', 'after'. - **Gruesome:** Causing horror. - **Antagonist:** A character who creates problems in a story; a 'bad' character who stands in the way of the hero. - **Eponymous Character:** The character whose name is in the title of the story. - **Psyche:** The mind. - **Instinctively:** Without conscious thought. - **Crept:** Walked quietly. - **Secondary Character:** A supporting character in a story; not the main character. - **Devouring:** Eating quickly. - **Blossom:** Flowers on a tree. - **Wicked:** Mean and angry. - **Soot:** A black powder. - **Dearly:** Greatly, very much. - **Brute:** A cruel person or animal. - **Accosted:** Approached aggressively. - **Shell:** An international oil company. - **Countered:** Respond in a slightly hostile way. - **Wayward:** Difficult to control, awkward. - **Doused:** Put out (a fire or a light). - **Rigidness:** Inability to change his mind or listen to other ideas. - **Rallied:** Acted together in support of each other. - **Appraised:** Judged; considered the value of. - **Treachery:** Betrayal. - **Active Voice:** Where the subject of a sentence is the person or thing performing the action. - **Passive Voice:** Where the verb comes before the person or thing, so the verb acts upon the subject. - **Petered Out:** Gradually got weaker, before going out. - **Adversary:** Opponent. - **Engulfed:** Surrounded completely. - **Roost:** A gathering (usually of birds, but used to describe people here). - **Frenziedly:** In an out of control way. - **Swarmed:** Moved quickly in a large group. - **Sweltering:** Extremely hot and humid. - **Minuscule:** Tiny. - **Ploughed On:** Continued. - **Missionaries:** People on a religious mission to help a foreign country. - **Rubber Gourd:** A kind of pot used to collect rubber from the rubber trees. - **Cowering:** Crouching (in fear). - **Busybodies:** Meddling, nosy people. - **Writhing:** Moving about as if in pain. - **Grotesque:** Ugly. - **Strode:** Walked quickly with long paces. - **Admonishing:** Reprimanding. - **Fable:** A short story designed to teach a moral lesson. - **Harmattan:** A dry wind that blows over West Africa from the desert. - **Abstractedly:** Lost in thought. - **Brooding:** Deep in thought, possibly sad or angry. - **Cocked His Ears:** Turned his head to listen. - **Thicket:** A dense group of bushes or trees. - **Prosecuted:** Taken to court for doing something illegal. - **Vividly Remembered:** A long-term effect and to be remembered vividly. - **Metaphor:** A meaning to have. - **Casts a Long Shadow:** A metaphor. - **Rhyme:** Words where the end part sounds the same (for example, 'feet' rhymes with 'meat'). - **Rhythm:** A regular, repeating pattern of sound or beat, common in music and poetry. - **Feeble:** Weak. - **Longed For:** Missed or wished for. - **Bid Him:** Say. - **Comparative Adjective:** An adjective that (usually implicitly) compares two nouns (for example, 'the tall boy' and 'the taller boy'). - **Chronological Order:** The order in which events occurred in time. - **Hastened:** Move quickly. - **Colossal:** Very big. - **Sewers:** Underground pipes that carry waste water. - **Clump:** A compact mass. - **The Shard:** A well-known tall building in London. - **Spew:** To force out in large quantities. - **Chunks:** Thick, solid pieces. - **Extended Metaphor:** A figurative language comparison that is developed throughout a piece of writing.