Ender's Game Vocab: Chapter 7

A salutation meaning "peace" or to be safe; a very low bow or obeisance "Alai suddenly kissed Ender on the cheek and whispered in his ear, 'Salaam.' Then, red-faced, he turned away and walked to his own bed at the back of the barracks. Ender guessed that the kiss and the word were somehow forbidden."

Lacking spirit or animation "…the maggots had done their work on the organs; now it was a desiccated mummy, hollowed-out, teeth in a rigid grin, eyes empty, fingers curled."

Not solid or firm; weak; flimsy; not substantial or real "He could climb a ways, but then at random a bar seemed to be insubstantial and he fell. He could sit on the see-saw until he rose to the apex; then he fell."

The highest point; vertex; summit; tip or point; climax; peak "He could climb a ways, but then at random a bar seemed to be insubstantial and he fell. He could sit on the see-saw until he rose to the apex; then he fell."

Harsh; strident; rowdy; disorderly "And the other children: their laughter was raucous, offensive. They circled around him and pointed and laughed for many seconds before they went back to their play."

Letting saliva run from the mouth; drooling; slobbering "Almost at once, he heard a snarl. Out of the woods emerged a dozen slavering wolves with human faces. Ender recognized them-they were the children from the playground."

Turbid; turbulent; disturbing; stirring; muddy "Now he plummeted downward toward a roiling river and savage rocks; but a cloud came between him and the ground as he fell, and caught him, and carried him away."

A person who speaks, writes, or reads many languages "'No, just a brilliant and talented polyglot. Petra Arkanian. The only girl in Salamander Army. With more balls than anybody else in the room.'"

Audacity; imprudence; effrontery; bitterness of spirit; causing irritation, vexing, chagrin "Maybe it seemed to Bonzo as if Ender were granting him his command as a favor. Galling, and yet he had no choice. No choice about anything."

Generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from pettiness; showing noble sensibility; courageously noble "Still, he would only know that Ender had beaten him, and then rubbed his nose in it by being magnanimous."

Revealing little sensibility; emotionless "He kept his soldiers moving, darting from star to star, wallsliding to get behind and above the stolid Salamanders."

The power or ability to begin or follow through with a task; determined; energetic "What mattered, however, was that Salamander felt defeated. They had surrendered the initiative completely."

The slaughter of a great number of people "They huddled together like the last survivors of a massacre, as if they hoped the enemy would overlook them in the carnage."

Sunk to or existing in a low state or condition; cast down in spirit; expressing or offered in a humble and often ingratiating spirit; wretched "With Salamander Army waiting abjectly for destruction, Leopard obligingly destroyed them."

Having the power or quality of deciding; resolute; determined; unmistakable; unquestionable "A reserve, held back until the end of the game, can be decisive. And soldiers can sometimes make decisions that are smarter than the orders they've been given."