Power Words 16 Taken from The Things They Carried Chapters 1 and 2

1. Power Words 16Taken from The Things They Carried Chapters 1 and 2

2. elusive • Adj. hard to express or define; cleverly or skillfully evasive “More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her, but the letters were mostly chatty, elusive on the matter of love.”

3. oppressive • Adj. burdensome, unjustly harsh: causing discomfort by being excessive “They would squint into the dense, oppressive sunlight.”

4. finite (fye-nite) • Adj. having bounds or limits; measurable “Courage, I seemed to think, comes to us in finite quantities, like an inheritance”

5. Ambiguity (am-bi-gyoo-ih-tee) • N. doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning of intention “For all the ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at a loss for things to carry”

6. servile • Adj. submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior; like a slave “The grass dark and servile, bending low, but then rising straight again when the chopper went away”

7. intangible • Adj. incapable of being perceived by the sense of touch “Grief, terror, love, long—these were intangibles”

8. composure • N. serene, self-controlled state of mind “By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composure.”

9. exuberance • N. extreme enthusiasm “The competition could be lethal, yet there was a childlike exuberance to it all, lots of pranks and horseplay.”

10. Buoyant (boy-uhnt) • Adj. tending to float; cheering or invigorating “It was all lightness, bright and fast and buoyant”

11. laxity • N. carelessness or negligence “He would not tolerate laxity. He would show strength, distancing himself.”

12. unencumbered • Adj. not burdened or hindered “It was a restful, unencumbered sensation, ust riding the light waves”