Thinking LIke a Mountain

Ashley P. (United States of America)
111 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. defoliate
    deprived of leaves
    I have seen every edible tree defoliated to the height of a saddlehorn.
  2. wolf
    any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs
    Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf.
  3. cowman
    a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  4. chesty
    marked by a large or well-developed chest
    A deep chesty bawl echoes from rimrock to rimrock, rolls down the mountain, and fades into the far blackness of the night.
  5. deer
    a deer or closely related animal with hooves and antlers
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  6. desuetude
    a state of inactivity or disuse
    I have seen every edible bush and seedling browsed, first to anaemic desuetude, and then to death.
  7. anaemic
    relating to anemia or suffering from anemia
    I have seen every edible bush and seedling browsed, first to anaemic desuetude, and then to death.
  8. white water
    frothy water as in rapids or waterfalls
    We saw what we thought was a doe fording the torrent, her breast awash in white water.
  9. fording
    the act of crossing a stream or river by wading or in a car or on a horse
    We saw what we thought was a doe fording the torrent, her breast awash in white water.
  10. objectively
    in a manner not influenced by emotion
    Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf.
  11. tyro
    someone new to a field or activity
    Only the ineducable tyro can fail to sense the presence or absence of wolves, or the fact that mountains have a secret opinion about them.
  12. molder
    decay or break down
    In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers.
  13. whinny
    the characteristic sounds made by a horse
    Even without sight or sound of wolf, it is implicit in a hundred small events: the midnight whinny of a pack horse, the rattle of rolling rocks, the bound of a fleeing deer, the way shadows lie under the spruces.
  14. awash
    covered with water
    We saw what we thought was a doe fording the torrent, her breast awash in white water.
  15. extirpate
    destroy completely, as if down to the roots
    Since then I have lived to see state after state extirpate its wolves.
  16. red ink
    the amount by which the cost of a business exceeds its revenue
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  17. tingle
    cause a stinging or prickling sensation
    It tingles in the spine of all who hear wolves by night, or who scan their tracks by day.
  18. writhe
    move in a twisting or contorted motion
    What was literally a pile of wolves writhed and tumbled in the center of an open flat at the foot of our rimrock.
  19. mountain
    a land mass that projects well above its surroundings
    A deep chesty bawl echoes from rimrock to rimrock, rolls down the mountain, and fades into the far blackness of the night.
  20. decipher
    convert something hidden or secretive into ordinary language
    Those unable to decipher the hidden meaning know nevertheless that it is there, for it is felt in all wolf country, and distinguishes that country from all other land.
  21. shears
    large scissors with strong blades
    Such a mountain looks as if someone had given God a new pruning shears, and forbidden Him all other exercise.
  22. pruning
    the act of trimming a plant
    Such a mountain looks as if someone had given God a new pruning shears, and forbidden Him all other exercise.
  23. melee
    a noisy riotous fight
    A half-dozen others, evidently grown pups, sprang from the willows and all joined in a welcoming melee of wagging tails and playful maulings.
  24. Thoreau
    United States writer and social critic (1817-1862)
    Perhaps this is behind Thoreau's dictum: In wildness is the salvation of the world.
  25. dullness
    without sharpness or clearness of edge or point
    We all strive for safety, prosperity, comfort, long life, and dullness.
  26. juniper
    desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having small white flowers
    In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers.
  27. scuffle
    fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  28. writhed
    twisted (especially as in pain or struggle)
    What was literally a pile of wolves writhed and tumbled in the center of an open flat at the foot of our rimrock.
  29. wildness
    an intractably barbarous or uncultivated state of nature
    Perhaps this is behind Thoreau's dictum: In wildness is the salvation of the world.
  30. seedling
    young plant or tree grown from a seed
    I have seen every edible bush and seedling browsed, first to anaemic desuetude, and then to death.
  31. dictum
    an authoritative declaration
    Perhaps this is behind Thoreau's dictum: In wildness is the salvation of the world.
  32. coyote
    small wolf native to western North America
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  33. fang
    canine tooth of a carnivorous animal
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  34. supple
    moving and bending with ease
    The deer strives with his supple legs, the cowman with trap and poison, the statesman with pen, the most of us with machines, votes, and dollars, but it all comes to the same thing: peace in our time.
  35. bleach
    make whiter or lighter
    In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers.
  36. implicit
    suggested though not directly expressed
    Even without sight or sound of wolf, it is implicit in a hundred small events: the midnight whinny of a pack horse, the rattle of rolling rocks, the bound of a fleeing deer, the way shadows lie under the spruces.
  37. impassable
    incapable of being gone across or through
    When our rifles were empty, the old wolf was down, and a pup was dragging a leg into impassable slide-rocks.
  38. itch
    an irritating cutaneous sensation that produces a desire to scratch
    I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise.
  39. bawl
    cry loudly
    A deep chesty bawl echoes from rimrock to rimrock, rolls down the mountain, and fades into the far blackness of the night.
  40. living thing
    a living (or once living) entity
    Every living thing (and perhaps many a dead one as well) pays heed to that call.
  41. shear
    cut or cut through with scissors
    Such a mountain looks as if someone had given God a new pruning shears, and forbidden Him all other exercise.
  42. prune
    cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of
    Such a mountain looks as if someone had given God a new pruning shears, and forbidden Him all other exercise.
  43. playful
    full of fun and high spirits
    A half-dozen others, evidently grown pups, sprang from the willows and all joined in a welcoming melee of wagging tails and playful maulings.
  44. adversity
    a state of misfortune or affliction
    It is an outburst of wild defiant sorrow, and of contempt for all the adversities of the world.
  45. howl
    cry loudly, as of animals
    Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf.
  46. spruce
    a tall evergreen tree that produces cones
    Even without sight or sound of wolf, it is implicit in a hundred small events: the midnight whinny of a pack horse, the rattle of rolling rocks, the bound of a fleeing deer, the way shadows lie under the spruces.
  47. defiant
    boldly resisting authority or an opposing force
    It is an outburst of wild defiant sorrow, and of contempt for all the adversities of the world.
  48. blackness
    total absence of light
    A deep chesty bawl echoes from rimrock to rimrock, rolls down the mountain, and fades into the far blackness of the night.
  49. forecast
    a prediction about how something will develop
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  50. tumble
    fall down, as if collapsing
    What was literally a pile of wolves writhed and tumbled in the center of an open flat at the foot of our rimrock.
  51. wag
    a movement from side to side
    A half-dozen others, evidently grown pups, sprang from the willows and all joined in a welcoming melee of wagging tails and playful maulings.
  52. starve
    die of food deprivation
    In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers.
  53. ford
    cross a river where it's shallow
    We saw what we thought was a doe fording the torrent, her breast awash in white water.
  54. starved
    suffering from lack of food
    In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers.
  55. heed
    careful attention
    Every living thing (and perhaps many a dead one as well) pays heed to that call.
  56. mortal
    subject to death
    I now suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal fear of its deer.
  57. meaning
    the message that is intended or expressed or signified
    Yet behind these obvious and immediate hopes and fears there lies a deeper meaning, known only to the mountain itself.
  58. scan
    examine minutely or intensely
    It tingles in the spine of all who hear wolves by night, or who scan their tracks by day.
  59. rattle
    make a series of short, loud sounds
    Even without sight or sound of wolf, it is implicit in a hundred small events: the midnight whinny of a pack horse, the rattle of rolling rocks, the bound of a fleeing deer, the way shadows lie under the spruces.
  60. trigger
    lever that activates the firing mechanism of a gun
    I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise.
  61. dragging
    marked by a painfully slow and effortful manner
    When our rifles were empty, the old wolf was down, and a pup was dragging a leg into impassable slide-rocks.
  62. requisite
    necessary for relief or supply
    A measure of success in this is all well enough, and perhaps is a requisite to objective thinking, but too much safety seems to yield only danger in the long run.
  63. buck
    mature male of certain mammals, especially deer or antelope
    And perhaps with better cause, for while a buck pulled down by wolves can be replaced in two or three years, a range pulled down by too many deer may fail of replacement in as many decades.
  64. perhaps
    by chance
    Every living thing (and perhaps many a dead one as well) pays heed to that call.
  65. torrent
    an overwhelming number or amount
    We saw what we thought was a doe fording the torrent, her breast awash in white water.
  66. objective
    the goal intended to be attained
    A measure of success in this is all well enough, and perhaps is a requisite to objective thinking, but too much safety seems to yield only danger in the long run.
  67. bone
    rigid tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates
    In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers.
  68. sage
    a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics
    In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers.
  69. salvation
    rescuing or protecting someone or something from harm
    Perhaps this is behind Thoreau's dictum: In wildness is the salvation of the world.
  70. leg
    a human limb
    When our rifles were empty, the old wolf was down, and a pup was dragging a leg into impassable slide-rocks.
  71. statesman
    a man who is a respected leader in national or international affairs
    The deer strives with his supple legs, the cowman with trap and poison, the statesman with pen, the most of us with machines, votes, and dollars, but it all comes to the same thing: peace in our time.
  72. dead
    no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
    Every living thing (and perhaps many a dead one as well) pays heed to that call.
  73. steep
    having a sharp inclination
    In a second we were pumping lead into the pack, but with more excitement than accuracy: how to aim a steep downhill shot is always confusing.
  74. green
    of the color between blue and yellow in the color spectrum
    We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes.
  75. fear
    an emotion in anticipation of some specific pain or danger
    Yet behind these obvious and immediate hopes and fears there lies a deeper meaning, known only to the mountain itself.
  76. contempt
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    It is an outburst of wild defiant sorrow, and of contempt for all the adversities of the world.
  77. decade
    a period of 10 years
    And perhaps with better cause, for while a buck pulled down by wolves can be replaced in two or three years, a range pulled down by too many deer may fail of replacement in as many decades.
  78. obvious
    easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind
    Yet behind these obvious and immediate hopes and fears there lies a deeper meaning, known only to the mountain itself.
  79. rock
    material consisting of the aggregate of minerals
    Even without sight or sound of wolf, it is implicit in a hundred small events: the midnight whinny of a pack horse, the rattle of rolling rocks, the bound of a fleeing deer, the way shadows lie under the spruces.
  80. perceived
    detected by instinct or inference
    Perhaps this is the hidden meaning in the howl of the wolf, long known among mountains, but seldom perceived among men.
  81. poison
    any substance that causes injury or illness or death
    The deer strives with his supple legs, the cowman with trap and poison, the statesman with pen, the most of us with machines, votes, and dollars, but it all comes to the same thing: peace in our time.
  82. threat
    declaration of an intention to inflict harm on another
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  83. pine
    a coniferous tree
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  84. echo
    the repetition of a sound from reflection of the sound waves
    A deep chesty bawl echoes from rimrock to rimrock, rolls down the mountain, and fades into the far blackness of the night.
  85. slope
    be at an angle
    I have watched the face of many a newly wolfless mountain, and seen the south-facing slopes wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails.
  86. seldom
    not often
    Perhaps this is the hidden meaning in the howl of the wolf, long known among mountains, but seldom perceived among men.
  87. fierce
    marked by extreme and violent energy
    We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes.
  88. dying
    in the process of passing from life or ceasing to be
    We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes.
  89. flesh
    the soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  90. absence
    the state of being not present
    Only the ineducable tyro can fail to sense the presence or absence of wolves, or the fact that mountains have a secret opinion about them.
  91. immediate
    directly before or after as in a chain of cause and effect
    Yet behind these obvious and immediate hopes and fears there lies a deeper meaning, known only to the mountain itself.
  92. excitement
    the state of being emotionally worked up
    In a second we were pumping lead into the pack, but with more excitement than accuracy: how to aim a steep downhill shot is always confusing.
  93. trail
    a path or track
    I have watched the face of many a newly wolfless mountain, and seen the south-facing slopes wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails.
  94. score
    a number that expresses accomplishment in a game or contest
    My own conviction on this score dates from the day I saw a wolf die.
  95. flee
    run away quickly
    Even without sight or sound of wolf, it is implicit in a hundred small events: the midnight whinny of a pack horse, the rattle of rolling rocks, the bound of a fleeing deer, the way shadows lie under the spruces.
  96. fire
    the process of combustion of inflammable materials
    We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes.
  97. just as
    at the same time as
    I now suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal fear of its deer.
  98. learned
    having or showing profound knowledge
    He has not learned to think like a mountain.
  99. thinking
    endowed with the capacity to reason
    A measure of success in this is all well enough, and perhaps is a requisite to objective thinking, but too much safety seems to yield only danger in the long run.
  100. danger
    the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
    A measure of success in this is all well enough, and perhaps is a requisite to objective thinking, but too much safety seems to yield only danger in the long run.
  101. shot
    the act of firing a projectile
    In a second we were pumping lead into the pack, but with more excitement than accuracy: how to aim a steep downhill shot is always confusing.
  102. secret
    not openly made known
    Only the ineducable tyro can fail to sense the presence or absence of wolves, or the fact that mountains have a secret opinion about them.
  103. eyes
    opinion or judgment
    We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes.
  104. shoot
    fire a shot
    In a second we were pumping lead into the pack, but with more excitement than accuracy: how to aim a steep downhill shot is always confusing.
  105. blood
    the fluid that is pumped through the body by the heart
    To the deer it is a reminder of the way of all flesh, to the pine a forecast of midnight scuffles and of blood upon the snow, to the coyote a promise of gleanings to come, to the cowman a threat of red ink at the bank, to the hunter a challenge of fang against bullet.
  106. eye
    the organ of sight
    We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes.
  107. peace
    the state prevailing during the absence of war
    The deer strives with his supple legs, the cowman with trap and poison, the statesman with pen, the most of us with machines, votes, and dollars, but it all comes to the same thing: peace in our time.
  108. kill
    cause to die
    In those days we had never heard of passing up a chance to kill a wolf.
  109. old
    having lived for a long time or attained a specific age
    When our rifles were empty, the old wolf was down, and a pup was dragging a leg into impassable slide-rocks.
  110. view
    the visual percept of a region
    But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.
  111. tree
    a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
    I have seen every edible tree defoliated to the height of a saddlehorn.
Created on 十一月 15, 2010

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