Please Ignore Vera Dietz: Part Two

by A.S. King
Vera's best friend Charlie betrays her when he starts hanging out with troublemaker Jenny Flick. When Charlie dies, Vera must decide whether to reveal the truth about his death.

Here are links to our lists to the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five
40 words 25 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. suggestive
    tending to hint at something improper or indecent
    Marie brought in two drivers from day shift, every part-timer we’ve got who would come in, and three extra pizza makers—including ex-cheerleader-turned-food-service-worker Jill, who can’t stop making suggestive remarks about me and James.
  2. ponder
    reflect deeply on a subject
    I had no idea how much it would hurt my throat, but loved the way it made
    me feel a minute later as I sat on the toilet, pondering the tiled floor.
  3. feign
    give a false appearance of
    “Nope. No party. No boyfriend. But some geeks over on Lancaster Road invited me to their all-night Monopoly party. Wanna go and crash it with me?”
    He feigns consideration.
  4. android
    a moving mechanical device that looks like a person
    They seem friendly this time, but machine-like. They seem like a thousand android Charlies. Coming to get me.
  5. bawl
    cry loudly
    They outstretch their arms and hug me tightly until I bawl and tell them what they want to hear.
  6. smother
    envelop completely
    “It means you’ll get a better job,” Aunt Kate says while shoveling a forkful of mashed potatoes smothered in sauerkraut into her mouth.
  7. binge
    any act of immoderate indulgence
    Who makes pork and sauerkraut a traditional lucky meal on the day after the year’s biggest traditional drinking binge?
  8. venison
    meat from a deer used as food
    We are maniacal about it now, since six years ago, when we tried to change the tradition and had venison stew instead.
  9. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    He climbed two limbs up and reached into a gnarled old knot that had doubled as a squirrel’s nest.
  10. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    He banged the pack a bit on his hand, coaxed a smoke out of the middle of the front row, and popped it into his mouth.
  11. descent
    a movement downward
    “Come on,” he said, starting his descent.
  12. repulse
    cause aversion in
    But this time, there was a problem. I couldn’t picture Romeo and Juliet without picturing Charlie and me.
    Part of me was repulsed by the thought.
  13. infatuation
    a foolish and usually extravagant passion or love
    When I thought of what true love must be like, I figured it must be a mix like this, and not the stupid eighth-grade infatuation most girls my age felt.
  14. lambaste
    censure severely or angrily
    I could hear yelling from inside the Kahns’ house. More than the usual amount. More than Mr. Kahn drunkenly lambasting Mrs. Kahn for missing a spiderweb in a dark corner or not beating the rugs properly.
  15. impulsive
    without forethought
    The most we’ve said to each other tonight is “Hi,” and I’m still not sure what
    to say after last night’s impulsive—thing.
  16. deltoid
    large triangular muscle covering the shoulder joint
    He wears a Pagoda shirt that’s a tiny bit small for him, so his biceps and deltoids are really defined and I can’t help but want to squeeze them.
  17. sarcastic
    expressing or expressive of ridicule that wounds
    He’s funny, sarcastic, and cynical. He can see outside this stupid little town because he’s been out of this stupid little town.
  18. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    He’s funny, sarcastic, and cynical. He can see outside this stupid little town because he’s been out of this stupid little town.
  19. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    I think about what awaits me at home. My stinky-dead mouse room. My snoring and oblivious dad.
  20. seethe
    be in an agitated emotional state
    The day after Charlie finished building the deck (and I heard all that yelling), he arrived at the bus stop, seething.
  21. rivet
    a heavy metal pin used to fasten two pieces of metal
    I pushed myself into the cold metal sea foam green bus wall so hard I could feel the rivets press into my arm.
  22. stark
    complete or extreme
    I noted that his cheek and lip fuzz was missing and his eyebrows were now separated by a stark white space of skin rather than the unruly mess of hairs that had been there before.
  23. parasol
    a handheld collapsible source of shade
    Back when things were still civilized, the rich folks from town used to come up and stay their weekends in grand hotels, and ride on the gravity railroad. Ladies in long skirts, with parasols, and strong men in striped three-piece suits with gold pocket watches.
  24. asphyxiate
    die from lack of oxygen
    I can guarantee you this: you do not want to die by asphyxiating...
  25. omnipotent
    having unlimited power
    No, I’m not omnipotent. Of course not. But I can make things appear to those who want to see them, and small-town cops are always looking for trouble, aren’t they?
  26. truancy
    failure to attend, especially school
    In junior high school, I became good pals with the truancy officer in the area.
  27. matinee
    a theatrical performance held during the daytime
    Then I’d go to the 99-cent noon matinee and drink up through whatever movie was playing at the time.
  28. judgmental
    relating to an assessment of a person, situation, or event
    Plus, youth is judgmental.
  29. cocky
    overly self-confident or self-assertive
    Still, I walk around cocky all day. I have a secret life.
  30. trivial
    of little substance or significance
    All these idiots are caught up in their stupid sports or their college choices. They’re caught up in trivial fashion...
  31. minion
    a servile or fawning dependent
    All the kids who did something dumb to get detention today (Bill Corso and Jenny Flick and their minions) are called to the assistant principal’s office.
  32. scrawl
    write carelessly
    Before I can comment about how weird he’s acting, he hands me the phone and a phone number scrawled on a sky-blue piece of notepaper.
  33. impudent
    improperly forward or bold
    “Don’t be impudent.”
  34. oppression
    the state of being kept down by unjust use of authority
    Some of them think this is a really hip way to live, you know. Freedom from the oppression of men!
  35. irate
    feeling or showing extreme anger
    I’m irate now. There is no other way to describe it. If she were in the room with me, I’d pick up sharp things and throw them at her.
  36. discern
    perceive, recognize, or detect
    How does a boy like that discern right from wrong?
  37. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    Plus, electricity scared me. Always had, ever since I’d stuck the tip of a dinner fork into the toaster to pry out an Eggo whole wheat waffle and got a little zap from it.
  38. fawn
    try to gain favor through flattery or deferential behavior
    When he did take the time to visit, the adoption center ladies fawned over him.
  39. unconditional
    not modified or restricted
    Humans just couldn’t love unconditionally like animals could. Humans were too complicated.
  40. contemplate
    think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes
    From then on, I couldn’t picture Charlie sitting there contemplating the spirit of the Great Hunter.
Created on Tue Apr 24 19:05:21 EDT 2018 (updated Tue May 01 11:52:33 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.