Abnegation
One of the five factions, known for the trait of selflessness (valuing the needs of others over their own). Abnegation believes that selfishness is to blame for everything that is wrong in the world. Abnegation is in charge of public services and the government. Led by Marcus Eaton before the disintegration of the faction system.
Allegiant
The group of rebels in the city experiment led by Johanna Reyes and Cara. The Allegiant do not believe in the tyrannical government run by Evelyn Johnson that was instated in the city after the factionless overthrew the Erudite. The Allegiant have two objectives: 1) to reinstate the faction system in the city and 2) to find out what is outside the city.
Amity
One of the five factions, known for the traits of peace and harmony; they believe that aggression and violence are the worst qualities in a human. Amity provides the city with caretakers and counselors. Johanna Reyes is the former representative of Amity.
Bureau of Genetic Welfare
The agency in charge of the genetic rehabilitation experiments like the one found in Chicago. Led by David, they believe that genetic damage is to blame for all war and poverty in the world. The Bureau is prepared to make sacrifices to keep its experiments running.
Candor
One of the five factions, known for the traits of honesty and impartiality; they believe that dishonesty is the biggest problem in the world. The Candor are lawyers in the city.
Choosing Ceremony
A tradition within the city experiment in which all of the 16-year-olds were given the chance to choose which of the 5 factions they wished to belong to. Most children chose the faction that they were raised in, but some (like Tris, Tobias and Caleb) transfer.
Dauntless
One of the five factions, known for the trait of bravery. The Dauntless believe that cowardice and fear are to blame for the faults of society. The Dauntless are in charge of security and surveillance in the city.
Death Serum
The serum that is released when the Weapons Lab is breached. It is known to kill anyone who comes in contact with it; no one is known to have survived contact with the death serum.
Divergent
The term for an individual in the city experiment with healed genes. The Divergent do not fit well into the mold provided by any 1 of the 5 factions. They also cannot be as easily controlled by serums or simulations as GDs can be. Jeanine Matthews conducted a campaign to kill the Divergent before she was killed.
Erudite
One of the five factions, known for the trait of intelligence. The Erudite believe that lack of knowledge is what’s wrong with the world. The Erudite work to advance science and technology, as well as teach, in Chicago. They were previously led by Jeanine Matthews, until the factionless uprising led to the disintegration of the faction system.
Factionless
When a person fails to complete initiation in their chosen faction, they are deemed factionless. The factionless are estranged from society in the city, living in poverty. They are led by Evelyn Johnson, taking over the city of Chicago after taking down the Erudite. It is also known that the factionless have more Divergent in their rank than any of the factions.
The Fringe
The areas between metropolitan areas in the Midwest which are home to a large population of GDs. The GDs here live in ruins, without enough food or shelter to live a proper lifestyle. The violence and depravity in the fringe is used by the Bureau to perpetuate its belief that genetic damage is to blame for everything wrong in the world.
GD
The Bureau’s term for 'genetically damaged'; GDs (like most of the people in the Chicago experiment or in the fringe) are thought to be inferior to genetically pure individuals. Bad behavior is often attributed to a GD’s genes.
GP
The Bureau’s term for 'genetically pure'; GPs (like the Divergent and the leaders of the Bureau) think of themselves as superior to GDs. GPs almost always get better jobs and less severe criminal punishments than GDs. Emergent traits of a GP are often serum and simulation resistance.
Memory Serum
A serum that can reset the memory of a person. It targets only explicit memories (a person’s name, his life story, etc.), not implicit memories like how to walk or tie a shoe. This is the Bureau’s ultimate weapon, and the Bureau uses it whenever something goes wrong in a city experiment. It’s a way to ‘start fresh’ by wiping away people’s lives and memories.
Merciless Mart
The building that was Candor headquarters before the overthrow of the faction system.
Purity War
After the genetic manipulation experiments in which the government attempted to ‘heal’ people’s bad genes, citizens of the US realized that the experiments had only resulted in damaged genes, not healed ones. This was a war that raged, pitting the government and GPs vs. the GDs that had had their genes manipulated. Huge loss of life and destruction were the result of this war, and the Bureau formed after its conclusion, hoping to fix genetic damage.
Weapons Lab
The high security vault in the Bureau compound in which the memory serum that the Bureau members plan to use to reset the Chicago experiment is stored. Only David knows the code to get into the lab, and the use of explosives cannot get someone into the lab. A breach to the Weapons Lab results in the release of the death serum, killing anyone inside.
Hancock Building
The skyscraper in Chicago where Tris once rode a zip-line with many other Dauntless from the top floor all the way to the ground. It serves as a landmark that clues the reader into the true setting of the story throughout the series. In the epilogue, Tobias and the rest of Tris's friends revisit the Hancock building to zip-line one last time, spreading Tris's ashes in the process.
Simulation Serum
The serum that the Bureau engineered and provided to the Erudite (led by Jeanine) before the faction system was overthrown. This serum was responsible for sending a large proportion of the Dauntless into a trance, controlled by Jeanine's computer systems. Jeanine used the Dauntless to kill many of the Abnegation. The fact that the Bureau provided this serum becomes important in this story: Tris and Tobias take it as evidence that the Bureau is evil.
