Question

Why These Words? The following vocabulary words are used to reveal hopes and fears about the future.

foreboding intuition rigid apprehension mounting insistent


Practice
Refer to the selection to answer the questions below.

How do the vocabulary words sharpen your understanding of the characters’ feelings about the future?

Answer 1

These words work together to show not just that characters are thinking about the future but how they feel about it — the tone, intensity, and direction of those feelings.

- Foreboding — suggests an ominous, instinctive sense that something bad is coming; it colors a scene with dread and makes the future seem threatening.
- Intuition — shows a quieter, internal knowing (hopeful or fearful) that isn’t yet proven; it makes a character’s reaction feel personal and pre-rational.
- Rigid — implies inflexibility or resistance to change; a rigid character is trying to hold the future to a fixed plan, revealing fear of uncertainty or a refusal to adapt.
- Apprehension — names the anxiety or nervousness about what will happen; it makes worry explicit and readable.
- Mounting — communicates that feelings (fear, hope, pressure) are increasing over time; it signals rising tension or stakes.
- Insistent — conveys persistence or urgency (of a person, thought, or feeling); it shows that a concern or hope won’t be quieted.

Taken together, these words sharpen understanding by showing both the quality of the emotion (dread vs. quiet knowing vs. stubbornness) and its dynamics (growing, persistent). That lets the reader see who fears the future, who hopes, who resists change, and how strongly those responses intensify.