| Term | Definition |
| badger | to harass persistently; to annoy |
| benevolent | showing, doing, or resulting in good; kindhearted |
| elapse | to slip by, as in time |
| fitful | stopping and starting intermittently |
| genre | a category; a type |
| haven | a place of safety; a sanctuary |
| immaterial | of little or no importance; irrelevant |
| innate | possessed from birth; inborn; inherent |
| kindle | to set fire to; to catch fire; to arouse feelings; to stir emotions |
| listless | lacking energy; unenthusiastic |
| meager | lacking abundance; inadequate; scanty |
| octogenarian | someone between eighty and eighty-nine years old |
| permeate | to spread or flow through; to penetrate |
| republic | a government in which citizens elect officials to represent them |
| tether | a rope or chain to restrain; to use a rope or chain to restrain |