Ninth Ward: List 4: Monday–Monday Isn't Over

by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Twelve-year-old Lanesha and her caretaker, both endowed with supernatural gifts, must fight to survive when Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1: Sunday–Tuesday; List 2: Wednesday–Friday; List 3: Saturday–Still Sunday; List 4: Monday–Monday Isn't Over; List 5: Tuesday

Here are links to our lists for other books by Jewell Parker Rhodes: Towers Falling, Ghost Boys
35 words 16 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incense
    a substance that produces a fragrant odor when burned
    Mama Ya-Ya is praying before her altar, lighting rosewood incense, and picking up the statue of the Virgin Mary.
  2. mourn
    feel sadness
    I don’t want to see the broken street. Or hear my neighbors mourning what they lost.
  3. soothe
    cause to feel better
    “But, you,” she said, stroking my cheek, “are my sweetest gift. The life surprise that soothed all my ills and gave me my greatest joys. I feel so blessed you are mine.”
  4. clutch
    take hold of; grab
    “I love you, Mama Ya-Ya.” I clutch her hand.
  5. murmur
    speak softly or indistinctly
    “Storm’s coming,” she murmurs.
  6. bittersweet
    tinged with sadness
    I’m not sure what I’m feeling. It’s not pure happiness, but something sour. Bittersweet.
  7. siphon
    convey, draw off, or empty by or as if by a tube
    TaShon, like Mama Ya-Ya, seems to have run down. His energy drained like boys siphoning gas from a car.
  8. streak
    move quickly in a straight line
    Tears have streaked his cheeks clean.
  9. linoleum
    a floor covering made from linseed oil, cork, and resin
    When Spot’s done drinking, TaShon sits on the floor beside him, his fingers tracing the linoleum cracks.
  10. scamper
    run or move about quickly or lightly
    The two of them scamper off the bed and out of the bedroom.
  11. stern
    not able to yield, relent, or forgive
    “That’s where you need to be,” she says sternly.
  12. grimace
    contort the face to indicate a certain mental state
    Then, she grimaces. “I need my medicine.”
  13. bristle
    rise up as in fear
    I feel the hair on my neck, bristling.
  14. uneasy
    causing or fraught with or showing anxiety
    I’m uneasy.
  15. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    Most areas in the attic, I have to hunch my back. I can’t stand straight.
  16. condition
    a state at a particular time
    It was never in good condition anyway, but now it looks like it’s leaning and will fall down any second.
  17. squat
    sit on one's heels
    I stand quick, wiping my hands on my shirt. My jeans are wet. I squat.
  18. skim
    travel on the surface of water
    There are tiny bugs floating dead in the water; others are skimming, still alive.
  19. leech
    carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worm
    I think I see a leech. Slimy, fatter than a worm.
  20. groggy
    stunned or confused and slow to react
    I get up. Groggy.
  21. stumble
    walk unsteadily
    On the left, my arms are holding her up; TaShon is on her right. Mama Ya-Ya is heavy; her feet drag. We all stumble forward.
  22. lopsided
    having one side lower or smaller or lighter than the other
    Her face looks lopsided.
  23. rickety
    inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
    I go back to the doorway. Look down the rickety stairs. The water has risen another step.
  24. geography
    study of the earth's surface
    The hurricane's gone. Then, I remember geography. The Mississippi. I sniff. It smells like the Mississippi.
  25. listless
    marked by low spirits; showing no enthusiasm
    TaShon has already taken off his shirt, and Spot seems listless.
  26. musty
    stale and unclean smelling
    My head hurts from the heat, from the musty smell.
  27. suffocate
    struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake
    Then, I wouldn’t feel I’m suffocating in the dark heat, hear Mama Ya-Ya’s breathing ragged and slow, or smell the Mississippi living in our house.
  28. variable
    a quantity that can assume any of a set of values
    Solve problems. Think, Lanesha. Time. It’s sometimes a variable in math.
  29. stunned
    in a state of mental numbness as resulting from shock
    TaShon seems stunned.
    “Come on,” I say. “We’ve got to survive.”
  30. hatchet
    a small ax with a short handle used with one hand
    The axe is wet with stinky water.
    “Like a hatchet,” TaShon says.
  31. awkward
    lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance
    Then, before I can say anything, he’s climbing awkwardly with the axe.
  32. steadily
    at a continuous rate or pace
    The water keeps steadily rising.
  33. crouch
    sit on one's heels
    We crouch like bugs on top of the chest. Our feet can’t hang free—else our legs and pants will get wet.
  34. splinter
    break up into thin fragments
    I stand, stooping, my back curled, and swing the axe at the window. Glass breaks. The frame splinters, just a bit.
  35. scramble
    move hurriedly
    Spot scrambles through.
Created on Thu Dec 21 19:10:42 EST 2017 (updated Mon Jun 25 16:39:29 EDT 2018)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.