CBSE NCERT Class 11 English Hornbill Book Chapter wise word meanings

 

Class XI NCERT Hornbill Book Chapter wise difficult word meanings  

Here, the difficult words and their meanings of all the Chapters of CBSE Class 11 English Hornbill Book have been compiled for the convenience of the students. This is an exhaustive list of the difficult words and meanings of all the Chapters from the Hornbill book for CBSE NCERT Class 11 English. The difficult words’ meanings have been explained in an easy language so that every student can understand easily.

Class 11 English Lessons Word Meaning from Hornbill Book

• Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady
• Chapter 2 We’re Not Afraid to Die… If We Can All Be Together
• Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues
• Chapter 4 Landscape of the Soul
• Chapter 5 The Ailing Planet: The Green Movement’s Role
• Chapter 6 The Browning Version
• Chapter 7 The Adventure
• Chapter 8 Silk Road
• Hornbill Book Poem Word Meaning
• Snapshots Book Word Meaning
• Hornbill Book Lesson Explanation
• Snapshots Book Lesson Explanation

 

Word meaning of Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady

1. A veritable bedlam of chirrupings – refers to the noise and confusion caused by the chirrupings of the sparrows
2. Absurd – Illogical
3. Accepted her seclusion with resignation- the grandmother accepted a lonely life as she accepted the separation from her grandson without objection
4. An expanse of pure white serenity – refers to the calm, relaxed and peaceful character of the author’s grandmother
5. Beads – a small piece of glass or stone threaded with others to make a rosary or necklace
6. Bedlam – confusion
7. Blaze – a very large burning fire
8. Bothered- to be concerned 
9. Cherished – hold something dear
10. Chirrupings – the noise of a small bird
11. Clasped – hold tightly 
12. Contentment – a state of happiness and satisfaction
13. Corpse- dead body
14. Courtyard- verandah
15. Cremated – dispose of or burn a body after it is dead
16. Criss- cross – a pattern of intersecting straight lines
17. Crude – in a natural state, roughly made
18. Customary – traditional
19. Dilapidated – in a state of despair or ruin
20. Distressed – suffer from extremely sorrow, anxiety or pain
21. Earthen- made of baked or fired clay
22. Fables- fictitious stories with a moral teaching
23. Fetch – go for and then bring back something for someone
24. Frivolous – not having any serious purpose, light-hearted
25. Frivolous rebukes – light hearted scoldings
26. Gentlefolk – People of noble birth
27. Growling – making a low guttural sound in the throat 
28. Harlots – Prostitutes
29. Hobbled – walked in an awkward way
30. Imprint – impression or stamp 
31. Inaudible- unable to be heard
32. Lewd Association – Indecent or Obscene
33. Locks- hair
34. Mantelpiece- a structure of wood, marble, or stone above and around a fireplace.
35. Moist- wet
36. Monotonous – dull and boring
37. Omitted – leave out or exclude something
38. Overstraining- overdoing something
39. Pallor – an unhealthy pale appearance
40. Perched – alight or rest on something
41. Persuade – to talk someone into doing something, request
42. Plastered- covered with a layer of plaster
43. Portrait- painting or picture
44. Prophets- saints
45. Protested – express an objection against something or someone
46. Puckered – a face contract into wrinkles
47. Rebuke – disapproval of something or someone
48. Revolting – unpleasant
49. Rosary- a string of beads for keeping count of number of chants made of a religious prayer
50. Sagging – sinking downwards
51. Scattered – disorganized 
52. Scriptures – the sacred writings of a religion 
53. Seclusion – the state of being private and away from the people
54. Sentimental – a feeling of nostaglia, sadness or tenderness; an emotional feeling
55. Serenity – the state of being peaceful and calm
56. Shooed – make a person or animal go away by shouting or saying ‘shoo’
57. Shroud – a piece of cloth used to wrap a dead person
58. Slate- a flat plate of slate formerly used for writing on in schools
59. Snapped- break suddenly and completely 
60. Spinning-wheel – a household machine with a wheel attached to it for spinning yarn
61. spotless white – she wore clean, white coloured dresses
62. Stale- no longer fresh and pleasant to eat; hard, musty, or dry.
63. Stoop – bend one’s body forward
64. The sagging skins of the dilapidated drum- The loose surface of the worn out drum
65. The thought was almost revolting- it was very hard for the author to believe
66. Thumped- hit
67. Undignified- disrespectful
68. Untidily – not neat
69. Veritable – use to describe something which is very interesting or unusual
70. Wrinkled- having lines or folds
71. Years rolled by- time passed

 

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Chapter 2 We’re Not Afraid to Die… If We Can All Be Together Word Meaning

1. Abated – something unpleasant to become less intense
2. Aft – near the stern of the ship
3. Anchored – moor a ship to the sea bottom
4. Ashore – on the shore of the land
5. Atrocious – bad; of a very poor quality
6. Auxiliary engine – small secondary engine used to board ships to operate a windlass in the ship
7. Bashed – strike hard; hit
8. Bleak – an area of land lacking vegetation
9. Boom – pole that controls the angle and shape of the sail
10. Bulged – swell
11. Bunk – bed
12. Canvas – a strong unbleached cloth
13. Capsizing – be overturned in the water
14. Caricatures – picture of a person; cartoon
15. Crest – reach the top of a wave
16. Debris – rubbish
17. Deck – a floor of a ship
18. Deflected: turned aside
19. Deteriorate – get worse
20. Dinghies – a small boat for recreation with mast or sail
21. Donned – put on, wore
22. Dozed off – went off to sleep 
23. Enormous – a very large size
24. Forestay – a rope to support ship’s foremast
25. Frightful – very unpleasant or shocking
26. Gales – A very strong wind
27. Gigantic – huge; of a big size
28. Hatch – door
29. Heave to – to raise or lift with effort
30. Honing – sharpen, improving
31. Honing our seafaring skills – improving the skills required to travel by sea
32. Hull – the framework of the vessel
33. Hurled – throw with a great force
34. Impending – about to happen
35. Jib – a triangular staysail set forward the mast in a ship
36. Keel – steel structure along the base of the ship
37. Knots – a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, used especially of ships, aircraft, or winds
38. Lashed – to hit with a lot of force
39. Leisure – free time
40. Loop – a shape produced that bends round and crosses; bent
41. Mast – a tall upright structure on a boat or ship
42. Mayday calls –words used to signal ships stuck in a disastrous situation through radio
43. Mooring – the ropes, chains, or anchors by or to which a boat, ship, or buoy is moored
44. Offshore – situated at the sea some distance from the shore
45. Oilskins – heavy cotton cloth waterproofed with oil
46. Ominous silence – unpleasant or threatening silence
47. Optimistic – hopeful and confident
48. Paraffin – colorless flammable oil liquid
49. Pinpricks – a prick caused by a pin
50. Pinpricks in the vast ocean – the two small islands in the vast ocean were very tiny like the prick caused by a pin
51. Respite – a short period of rest
52. Rigging – the ropes and wires supporting the structure of the ship
53. Scrambled – climb; claw one’s way
54. Seafaring – regularly traveling by sea
55. Sextant – an instrument with graduated arc of 60 degrees for taking altitudes and navigation
56. Shook – past tense of shake (vibrate)
57. Sloshed – move through liquid with a splashing sound.
58. Smashed – badly broken
59. Smashed – shattered or violently broken
60. Starboard – side of a ship which is on the right side when one is facing forward
61. Stark – sharply defined
62. Stern – the back part of a ship or a boat
63. Taut – stretched or pulled tightly
64. Timbers – wood board used in building of a ship
65. Torrent – a fast moving stream of water
66. Tousled head – disarranged hair of the narrator’s son, Jonathan
67. Tremendous – very great in amount
68. Voyage – a long journey by sea or space
69. Wooden-hulled – a watertight body of a ship
70. Wrenched – pull suddenly, removed

 

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Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Word meaning

1. Adorned – decorated
2. Adornments – ornaments
3. Afterlife- life after death, based on the belief that the essential part of an individual’s identity continues to the next life after the death of the physical body
4. Aftermath – after-effects of an unpleasant event
5. Amulet – an ornament or small piece of jewellery thought to give protection against evil, danger, or disease.
6. Anatomy – the branch of science which deals with the bodily structure of humans, animals or other living beings
7. Antiquity – age, oldness
8. Apron – a protective garment worn over the front of one’s clothes and tied at the back.
9. Astonishing – amazing
10. Blazing – very hot
11. Budged – moved or shifted; a slight movement
12. Burial – burying the dead
13. Casket- a small ornamental box or chest for holding jewels, letters, or other valued objects.
14. Casket grey – It means that the grey clouds were like a grey coloured casket which contained the stars. The stars are like jewels which are kept in a casket.
15. Cemetery- a large burial ground
16. Chiselled away – to cut something with a chisel
17. Circumvented – find a way around; thieves would have found a way to tackle the guards and remove the gold from the tomb
18. Computed Tomography – Also called a CT scan, it is a three-dimensional scan of a body with the help of hundreds of X-Rays in cross-section together
19. Concealed- hid
20. Cramped – very small to fit into
21. Dark-bellied – dark in colour
22. Death rattle – the gurgling sound produced in the throat of a person who is about to die
23. Demise – death
24. Descended – moved or gathered
25. Eerie detail – strange image of Tut’s head as visible with the help of CT scan
26. Forensic Reconstruction – the process of recreating the face of an individual
27. Forensics – the application of the scientific method to investigate a crime
28. Funerary Treasures – the valuable things with which the king was buried 
29. Futile – pointless; incapable of producing the result of something
30. Garlands of willow – a wreath of flowers and leaves
31. Gazed – to look in surprise or in admiration
32. Ghostly – eerie and unnatural; unreal
33. Gilded – covered with a thin sheet or coating of gold 
34. Glided – quite, continuous motion
35. Hastily – fast; swiftly
36. Heir – Inheritor, successor
37. Hydraulic lift – a lift that uses a machine to lift or move heavy objects with a pressure
38. Iconic – something or someone who is a symbol or it represents some other thing
39. Inlaid – a decorative pattern on a surface
40. Intervening – occur in the time between events
41. Intriguing – to arouse one’s curiosity
42. Laden – loaded
43. Legitimate – reasonable
44. Lingering – long-lasting
45. Mummy- a body of a human being or animal that has been ceremonially preserved by removal of the internal organs, treatment with natron and resin, and wrapping in bandages.
46. Murals – a painting or other artwork executed directly on the wall
47. Pallbearers – a person who helps to escort a coffin at a funeral
48. Pharaoh- a ruler in ancient Egypt
49. Pixels – a pixel is a single point in a graphic image
50. Pondering – think about something carefully
51. Probe – to investigate, find out
52. Ransacked – raid; go through a place to steal or damage something
53. Resins – a sticky flammable substance that is insoluble in water
54. Resting place- here, the grave
55. Resurrection – restoration to life
56. Ritual – here, the resins used in the ceremony of mummification
57. Rock-cut – made in a rock by cutting it
58. Scudded across – moving quickly; it refers to the movement of the dark-bellied clouds
59. Sheaths – a close-fitting cover 
60. Shrine – holy place
61. Shroud – a length of cloth in which a dead person is wrapped
62. Speculated- form a theory without evidence
63. Sprinted – ran at a high speed
64. Spun – to turn around
65. Startling – unexpected or surprising
66. Stirred – move or cause to move slightly
67. Striking- prominent
68. Swirling – to spin or twist
69. Three nested coffin- three coffins placed one in another in order of decreasing size. The innermost coffin houses the body of the deceased.
70. Tomb- an enclosure to bury the dead
71. Veiling – to cover something
72. Vertebrae – series of small bones which form a backbone
73. Wacky –amusing in a slightly odd way
74. Whisper- to speak in a low voice

 

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Word meaning of Chapter 4 Landscape of the Soul

1. Anecdote – a short interesting story of a real person
2. Antwerp – a city of northern Belgium
3. Apprentice – trainee; learner
4. Astonished – greatly surprised or impressed
5. Conceptual Space – relation with an abstract representation
6. Conduit – channel; tube
7. Daoism – a Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-Tzu
8. Delicate Realism – the quality of art that makes it seem real
9. Disciple – a follower or a pupil of a leader, teacher
10. Dwells – live; stay
11. Figurative painting – metaphoric representation of an art
12. Flanders – a medieval country in Western Europe  
13. Illusionistic Likeness – an illusion created which resembles something
14. Leisurely – unhurried or relaxed
15. Lofty – tall or high
16. Oppressed – burdened; worried
17. Splendid – very impressive; superb
18. Swat – hit or crush something
19. Void – empty; vacant

 

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Word meaning of Chapter 5 The Ailing Planet: The Green Movement’s Role

1. Ailing – in poor health
2. Anguish – pain; suffering
3. Barren wastelands – barely inhabitable piece of land
4. Beget – give life to
5. Casteism – discrimination on the grounds of caste
6. Catalogued – classify; characterise
7. Catastrophic Depletion – a harmful reduction in a number of something
8. Coercion – force
9. Condemns – find guilty of something
10. Dawned – begin
11. Decimated – to reduce in number
12. Decisively – clear and definitive
13. Demise – death
14. Deprives – prevent a person from using something
15. Deteriorate – become progressively worse; decline
16. Distorting – deform; disfigure
17. Endeavour – trying hard to achieve something
18. Ethical Obligation – when someone is required to do something based on a righteous standard of rules
19. Felicitous – well-chosen
20. Freehold – permanent tenure of land or property
21. Green Movement – It is a movement which stresses people to follow environmentally friendly practices.
22. Gripped – clutch; hold
23. Holistic and Ecological View – It means a view for the preservation of the environment. It also refers to the understanding of importance of earth’s resources for the use of future generations
24. Hutments – collection of huts
25. Ignominious darkness – disgraced as no one has knowledge about them
26. Impaired – weakened or damaged
27. Impoverished – made poor
28. Inter Alia – among other things
29. Irrevocably – in a way that cannot be changed or reversed
30. Languish – lose or lack of vitality of a person or plant or animal; grow weak
31. Metabolic needs – needs of a living organism that enables them to have a chemical process that causes food to be used for growth and energy
32. Patrimony – property inherited from father or ancestor
33. Perpetuation – keep going
34. Precede – come before in order or position
35. Procure – obtain with care or effort
36. Reckon – calculate
37. Revolutionary – evolving a complete change
38. Scorched – burn the surface with heat of fire
39. Sterilised – make free from bacteria or other micro organisms
40. Stewards – manage or to look after
41. Sustainable Development – economic development without depletion of natural resources
42. Synthetics – artificial substance
43. Tenancy – possession of the land
44. Transcending Concern – a concern that existed for a very long time and has passed down from one generation to another
45. Ushered – guide someone somewhere
46. Voluntary – done or given of one’s free will

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Chapter 6 The Browning Version Word meaning

1. Aeschylus – he was an ancient Greek tragedian who is referred to as ‘Father of Tragedy’
2. Agamemnon – he was the king of Mycenae in Greek mythology
3. Chap – a man who you know and like
4. Criterion – a standard by which something is judged
5. Cut – stop doing something undesirable
6. Envy – Jealousy
7. Exaggerating – represent something as being worse than it really is
8. Excerpt – a short extract from writing, movie or music
9. Frantically – desperately
10. Got carried away – to become overly excited or to take things too far
11. Imitating – copying
12. Indeed – Truly
13. Infinitely – to a great extent
14. Kept in – to make someone stay in a place, especially in school as a punishment
15. Latter – denoting the second-mentioned person of the two people
16. Muck – useless; which is of no good or use
17. Pardon – the action of being forgiven for error or offense; forgiveness
18. Remove – a division in British schools
19. Sadist – a person who derives pleasure by giving pain or humiliation to others
20. Shrivelled up – having no feelings
21. Slackers – lazy students who are not motivated
22. Strung together – to combine two different things into something useful

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Chapter 7 The Adventure difficult word meaning

1. Amok – to behave uncontrollably
2. Armour – shell
3. Assertion – a confident statement of a fact
4. Astute – smartness; quick-witted
5. Avidly – with great interest
6. Bifurcation – division
7. Blow – by – blow account – a detailed account
8. Catastrophe theory – it is a branch of mathematics concerned with systems displaying discontinuous changes
9. Converged – met
10. De facto – existing in fact with or without any lawful authority
11. Determinism – a doctrine that all the events are caused by the external will
12. Dismay – shock
13. Disparity – difference
14. Doctored accounts – manipulated accounts related to history
15. Dumbfounded – amazed
16. Emerged – developed; begin
17. Expansionist – a follower of the policy of territorial or economic expansion
18. Figurehead – a carving; image
19. Flourishing – to grow successfully
20. Frugal – less costly and simple
21. Gave vent to – to express one’s feelings
22. Grave – serious
23. Hostile – unfriendly
24. Ignoramus – an ignorant person
25. Impetus – the force with which body moves
26. Imposing – Impressive
27. Inadvertently – unintentionally
28. Manifestation – the action of showing something; demonstration
29. Marshall – to gather something
30. Melee – a confused fight
31. Morale booster – anything which boosts self- confidence
32. Outpost – a small military camp used as a guard
33. Permits – authorize to do something
34. Political acumen – political smartness
35. Precise – error-free; correct
36. Precise – exact; accurate
37. Proclaimed – to announce something officially
38. Quantum theory – a theory of matter and energy based on quantum mechanics.
39. Relegated to – assigned to a lower rank
40. Riddle – mystery or puzzle
41. Roared – to move at a high speed while making a loud noise
42. Rout – a defeat
43. Sacrilege – disrespect
44. Seldom – not often
45. Shoved – to push someone roughly
46. Smugly – to show excess satisfaction  
47. Speculating – wondering
48. Startling – surprising
49. Stroll – to wander
50. Suburban – residential area
51. Supremacy – the condition of being superior to others
52. Swarmed – move somewhere in a large number
53. Throng – a large pack of crowd
54. Townships – Towns or villages
55. Trajectory – the path followed by a projectile flying
56. Triumphant – Successful
57. Triumphantly – to win a battle
58. Valiantly – bravely
59. Valour – great courage in battle
60. Ventured – to say something that might be considered as an apology
61. Viable – practical

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Chapter 8 Silk Road meaning of difficult words

1. Accumulated – gathered
2. Arid – having little or no rain
3. Ascent – climb on an upward slope
4. Billowed – filled with air; swelled out
5. Bounding – jump; hop; bounce
6. Brackish – slightly salty water
7. Brook – a small stream
8. Cairn of rocks – the pile of stone on the top of the mountain, especially where someone is buried.
9. Careered down – sinking the slope
10. Cavernous – vast
11. Clambered – move or climb in an awkward way
12. Clung – hold tightly onto something
13. Confinement – detention; captivity
14. Cosmology – science about the origin and development of the universe
15. Daubed – spread a thick sticky substance on a surface carelessly
16. Derelict – ruined
17. Devout – deep
18. Drokba – Shepherd
19. Ducking Back – going inside and then coming out
20. En masse – in a group
21. Encrusted – decorated with a hard surface layer
22. Envisaged – predicted
23. Evasive – slippery
24. Ferocious – cruel or violent
25. Festooned – decorated
26. Filthy – dirty
27. Flanks – sides
28. Fling – throw
29. Flocks – a group of birds
30. Forge – put together; build-up
31. Frown – to disapprove of something
32. Galloping – progressing in an uncontrollable manner
33. Gasping – breathlessness
34. Gazelles – an African or Asian mammal with large eyes that moves quickly and hoofs
35. Glinting – sparkle or twinkle  
36. Grim – ugly or grey
37. Heaps – loads
38. Herd – a large group of animal
39. Incongruous – strange
40. Kora – meditation performed by Buddhist believers
41. Laden – loaded
42. Lichen – a slow-growing plant which grows on walls, trees or rocks
43. Loaves – bread shaped and baked in one piece which is usually sliced before being eaten
44. Lurching – listing
45. Manoeuvres – military exercises
46. Mastiffs – a dog who is a strong breed with dropping ears saggy ears
47. Meanders – to follow a winding course of a river or road
48. Nibbling – take a small bite from
49. Nocturnal – night time
50. Paraphernalia – miscellaneous articles
51. Pastures – land covered with grass
52. Pellets – shots
53. Petered out – to diminish gradually and stop
54. Plumes – Trails
55. Pockmarked – disfigured with a scar
56. Pondering – thinking
57. Propping – to hold up
58. Prostrating – lying down
59. Rag – scrap cloth
60. Rickety – unstable
61. Rudimentary – basic or primary
62. Salt flats – thatched roof covered with snow
63. Sanctity – pure
64. Shaggy – bushy or hairy
65. Size me up – to look at someone attentively
66. Slither – to move smoothly over a surface
67. Solitary – private
68. Solitary – private
69. Stark – plain
70. Stout – firm
71. Swathe – a long strip of land
72. Swerve – change direction suddenly
73. Throb – pulsate
74. Tiresome – dull and boring
75. Transpired – leaked
76. Veering – to change direction suddenly
77. Venerated – respected
78. Vestiges – a trace of something that is disappearing
79. Well-trodden – much frequented by travellers
80. Wild ass – an animal who have ears shorter than a horse and smaller in size
81. Wilderness – wasteland
82. Wisp – a small amount of something
83. Wreathed – twisted

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