BREVITY

• Shortness
• Hans Huberman's way of speaking with sincere brevity makes Leisel listen to him closely.
• Syn-tenseness, pithiness.
• Ant-verbosity, long-windedness.

COMPORT

• To conduct or bear oneself, behave; to be in agreement.
• Hans reminded Leisel to comport herself, despite him letting things slide with her.
• Syn-agree, concur.

CONCISE

• Expressing much in a few words.
• Despite Max's concise book to Liesel, the greater meaning had a bigger impact than content.
• Synonym-Brief, succinct, terse, pithy, to-the-point.
• Antonym- Wordy, verbose, prolix.

DEMURE

• Sober or serious in manner, modest.
• Despite her adventurous manner, around Rosa, Liesel gives her mother a demure appearance.
• Synonym-Shy, sedate, seemly, decorous.
• Antonym-Forward, assertive, immodest.

DEPRECIATION

• A lessening in value, a belittling.
• There was a depreciation for books in Nazi Germany, but Liesel would never lose appreciation for them.
• Synonym-Cheapening, lowering.
• Antonym-Increase, appreciation, enhancement.

DIVULGE

• To tell, reveal, or make public.
• Liesel was urged by Hans and Rosa not to divulge their secret of hiding a Jew.
• Synonym-Disclose, impart, leak.
• Antonym-Hide, conceal, cover up, secrete.

DETERIORATE

• To lower in quality or value; to wear away.
• Max's health began to deteriorate as he rotted in the basement.
• Synonym-Worsen, decline, degenerate, debase.
• Antonym-Fix up, enhance.

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ENLIGHTENED

• Free from ignorance and false ideas, possessing sound understanding.
• When Liesel discovered the beauty in books, she was lifted and enlightened.
• Synonym-Knowing, aware, cultivated.
• Antonym-Ignorant, unaware, untaught, benighted.

FORESTALL

• To prevent by acing first.
• To forestall his suspicion, Hans went back to the Nazi headquarters to check on his application.
• Synonym-Hinder, thwart, preclude.
• Antonym-Welcome, allow, accept, submit, abide by.

GARBLE

• To distort in such a way as to make unintelligible.
• It is easy for people to inadvertently garble the idea of jews being bad people in Nazi Germany, but Hans did not fall into the trap.
• Synonym-Jumble, confuse, misrepresent.
• Antonym-Elucidate, articulate.

PROPONENT

• One who puts forward a proposal; one who supports a cause or belief.
• Hans Huberman was one of a few proponents of the minority of people who didn't support Hitler.
• Synonym-Supporter, advocate, exponent.
• Antonym-Opponent, critic, foe, adversary.

QUAVER

• To shake, tremble; to trill.
• Liesel's voice quavered as the burning book pressed against her chest.
• Synonym-Vibrate, shiver, quake, palpitate.

RECOIL

• To spring back, to shrink.
• Hans Huberman will never forget the feeling of the recoil of his gun from WWI
• Synonym-Flinch, kickback.
• Antonym-Advance, proceed, gain ground.

RECOUP

• To make up for; regain.
• Frau Hermann will never quite recuperate from her son's death.
• Synonym-Recover, retrieve.
• Antonym-Lose, default, forfeit, kiss good-bye.

REEK

• An unpleasant smell; to give off strong impressions.
• Max reeked from lack of a bath for weeks.
• Synonym-Stench, stink, smell.
• Antonym-Perfume, fragrance, bouquet.

RELENTLESS

• Unyielding, harsh.
• Rudy was relentless with his attempts to kiss Liesel.
• Synonym-Stern, merciless, persistent.
• Antonym-Merciful, accommodating, indulgent.

RIVULET

• A small stream.
• Liesel would have died trying to swim in the rivulet of it weren't for Rudy's help.
• Synonym-Creek, rill.

SQUANDER

• To spend foolishly or waste.
• The Huberman's couldn't afford to squander their money for indulgences.
• Synonym-Misspend, dissipate.
• Antonym-Save, economize, hoard.

STACCATO

• Detached or disconnected in sound or style.
• The staccato of an army truck pulling in front of the Huberman's home was frightening to say the least.
• Synonym-Abrupt.
• Antonym-Continuous, flowing.

STATUTE

• A law.
• Having no statute of limitations, the Nazi's were free to enter the Huberman's home for an inspection.