Night Vocabulary

poignant

(Adj) evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret Ex: "Next to him lay his violin, trampled, an eerily POIGNANT little corpse" (95).

prostrate

(Adj) lying stretched out on the ground with one's face downward Ex: "Suffering from dysentery, my father was PROSTRATE on his cot, with another five sick inmates nearby" (108).

wizened

(Adj) shriveled or wrinkled with age Ex: "The person looking for us was a small fellow with spectacles in a WIZENED face" (43).

hermetically

(Adv) in a way that is completely airtight Ex: "The world had become a HERMETICALLY sealed cattle car" (24).

convoy

(N) a group [of ships or vehicles] traveling together Ex: "Our CONVOY included a few ten- and twelve-year olds" (47).

infirmary

(N) a place in a large institution for the care of those who are ill Ex: "Actually, being in the INFIRMARY was not bad at all: we were entitled to good bread, a thicker soup" (78).

liquidation

(N) a) informal definition: the killing of someone, typically by violent means b) formal definition: the conversion of assets into cash (i.e. by selling them) Ex: "...we learned that the underground resistance of the camp had made the decision not to abandon the Jews and to prevent their LIQUIDATION" (114).

conflagration

(N) an extensive fire that destroys a great deal of land or property Ex: "The stars were but sparks of the immense CONFLAGRATION that was consuming us" (21).

dregs

(Pl. N) the remnants [of a liquid left in a container, together with any sediment or grounds] Ex: "The days resembled the nights, and the nights left in our souls the DREGS of their darkness" (100).