The Giver Glossary

Glossary of Terms

admonition

A gentle warning against some activity

annex

A small building attached to a larger one

apprehensive

Being anxious and worried about the future

Assignment

The career that Elevens are given when they turn Twelve at the Ceremony of Twelve

assuage

To make easier or less painful

Capacity to See Beyond

In Jonas's case, he can see color, unlike other members of the community.

Ceremony of Loss

The community chants a person's name more and more quietly until it fades away, as a manner of mourning his death and allowing his memory to fade from everyone's consciousness.

Climate Control

The process by which society had gotten rid of sunshine, snow, and other weather in order to make growing crops easier

crescendo

The effect of rising in volume

haphazard

Random or sporadic

indolence

Laziness and sloth

jaunty

Lively and confident

Murmur-of-Replacement Ceremony

The community crescendos in their chanting of a name so that the new person can spiritually replace his predecessor

rehabilitation

The process of healing and treating conditions with physical movement

release

The term in Jonas's society for euthanasia by lethal injection

Sameness

The process of standardization of people and their environment that Jonas's society underwent in order to make life safe and predictable

Stirrings

The feeling of wanting that comes with the first indications of human sexuality in adolescents in Jonas's society

syringe

A needle with a plunger used to inject fluids into the body

The Ceremony

An annual event in which members of Jonas's society gather to watch the children grow one year older and come closer to becoming an adult

The Receiver of Memory

The individual who holds memories of the entire world for the community