| Term | Definition |
| promontories | peaks of high land sticking out into the water |
| innumerable | too many to count |
| stranded | forced into shallow water or onto a beach;left helpless |
| barricaded | blocked |
| ravaged | destroyed |
| solicitous | showing care or concern |
| garnished | decorated |
| absolution | act of freeing someone of a sin or criminal charge |
| commission | authorization; act of giving authority to an individual |
| sanguine | confident |
| avouches | asserts positively; affirms |
| prevarication | evasion of truth |
| capital | wealth in the form of money or property |
| timorous | timid |
| derision | contempt or ridicule |
| maxim | general truth or rule of conduct, expressed in brief form |
| stringent | strict |
| cant | insincere or meaningless talk |