Although we might think that rumors transform (and grow) in the telling, all that our sentence implies is that they travel quickly and broadly. To “propagate,” while often meaning to breed a species of animal, it likewise can mean to spread something abroad.

Since it is remarked that the whip has jagged glass on its tendrils, such a weapon could do considerable damage to the flesh of the one being whipped.  When flesh is “lacerated,” it has been deeply torn or cut. 

Since Ryan could not stand even for the existence of opposing viewpoints, it would seem that he would like to completely destroy them if at all possible.  The word “annihilate” comes from the Latin “nihil,” meaning “nothing.”  Therefore, to annihilate something means to destroy it utterly.  In English, if one his a “nihilist,” he or she is generally described as believing that there is no (nihil) meaning to life.

Since Philip is looking to transfer his sense of hope to the other soldiers, he is trying to “instill” it.  This is particularly the case given that Phillip is doing this “carefully” and nightly, implying that he is doing so “little by little.”  This gradual action is implied by the word “instill.”  It is derived from the Latin for “a drop,” so the word could be translated in a literal fashion “to place (an idea) into someone ‘drop by drop.’”

The key thing to note is that the general is looking for shelter for his troops.  The word “quarter” can function as a verb meaning “to give shelter to someone.”  This verbal form is related to the noun usage found in “His private quarters were a filthy mess.”  In this case, “quarters” indicates the room (usually applying to a member of the military).

Although it might be the case that humans had to punish or constrain animals in order to make them usable, the only thing that we can assert in this sentence is that something was done in order to make them usable for farming ends.  The process of “domestication” literally means “making something able to be in the house.”  It has this meaning because the word is derived from the Latin word “domus” for “house,” a root found likewise in the word “domicile.”  In English, the word particularly indicates the process of taming something in order to make it able to be a pet or suitable for farming.  The latter is directly stated in the sentence.

The workers are hoping to greet the boss “as a group,” meaning that they gathered together.  The word “congregate” does not only have religious overtones but more generally and properly means any act of gathering together as a crowd.  It comes from the combined parts “con-”, meaning “with” or “together” and “-gregate,” which is derived from the Latin roots for “herd” or “flock.”  A congregation is a “flocking together” or (more kind to human sensibilities) a “gathering together.”  The prefix is very common, being found in many words like “colloquy” and “cooperate.”  The latter is found in words like “aggregate” and “segregate.” 

To “ruminate” on something is to return and ponder over it through the day.  The only other option that might seem plausible in this regard would be “brood,” but that has the added negative connotation of thinking about something unhappy.  The word “ruminate” originally comes from Latin roots meaning to “chew over.”  It is used to describe animals like cows, which are named “ruminants.”  Such animals chew the food that they regurgitate from their first stomach (their “rumen”). 

There is no indication in this sentence that John and his friends are in the midst of debating his charm (or lack there of).  Therefore, the word “fancied” is the best choice, as it means “to think or imagine.”  The word is derived from the older term “phantasy,” meaning “imagination.”  This term itself was derived from the older philosophical terms “phantasia” and “phantasm,” which were parts of the theories of knowledge particularly found in medieval scholasticism but likewise stretching all the way back to Aristotle.

When arguing, one sometimes has to assume some fact or other in order to make an initial argument.  To “posit” something is to “place” such a fact forward as a possible explanation.  Generally speaking, such things are assumed to be true, though they are used as an investigation tool to start an argument that would otherwise be impossible without some initial test assumptions.  Insofar as the word means “to place,” you can see that it is related to English words like “position,” “impose,” “postpone,” and “reposition.”