Chapter 3 — Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words from Chapter 3

pneumatic (adjective)

Literally relating to air or gas pressure; in the novel, used as a compliment meaning attractively plump or curvaceous.

sententiously (adverb)

In a manner that is excessively moralizing or given to pompous pronouncements.

hypnopaedia (noun)

Sleep-teaching; the process of learning through repeated messages played during sleep.

promiscuity (noun)

The practice of having sexual relations with many partners without exclusivity or emotional commitment.

viviparous (adjective)

Giving birth to live young that have developed inside the mother's body, as opposed to hatching from eggs.

soma (noun)

A government-issued drug in the World State that produces feelings of euphoria and eliminates negative emotions without side effects.

transgressive (adjective)

Violating accepted social norms, boundaries, or conventions.

surrogate (noun)

A substitute; something that takes the place of another thing.

juxtaposition (noun)

The placement of two or more things side by side to highlight contrast or comparison.

montage (noun)

A technique of combining disparate elements (images, scenes, or ideas) into a single composite, originally from film.

predestinator (noun)

One who determines destinies in advance; in the novel, an official who assigns social roles to embryos before birth.

communal (adjective)

Shared by all members of a community; held in common rather than privately owned.

dystopia (noun)

An imagined society characterized by oppression, suffering, or injustice, often presented as utopian on the surface.

alienation (noun)

A state of emotional isolation or estrangement from one's society, community, or self.

anthrax (noun)

A deadly infectious disease caused by bacteria, historically weaponized in biological warfare.