Please Ignore Vera Dietz: Part Four

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
35 words 18 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. contusion
    an injury in which the skin is not broken
    My father, who won’t let me go to school with a contusion the size of a baseball, has grounded me and banned me from working to stultify my life.
  2. stultify
    deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless
    My father, who won’t let me go to school with a contusion the size of a baseball, has grounded me and banned me from working to stultify my life.
  3. subdued
    quieted and brought under control
    I’m sure she isn’t as subdued as you’re making her out to be.
  4. simultaneously
    at the same instant
    We are realizing, simultaneously, that we have never dealt with Mom leaving.
  5. retaliate
    make a counterattack and return like for like
    ...he finally retaliated by sharing the most obvious ammunition...
  6. sultry
    attractive and suggesting hidden passion
    On the bus, kids who knew me sang that sultry song...
  7. dread
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    I faced each day with a mix of dread, tears, and disappointment.
  8. torment
    a severe affliction
    It was as if living next door to the person who did this to me was a torment I would never shake.
  9. treason
    disloyalty by virtue of subversive behavior
    I don’t think the word betrayal covers it—more like high treason or defection or Iscariotism.
  10. defection
    withdrawing support or help despite allegiance
    I don’t think the word betrayal covers it—more like high treason or defection or Iscariotism.
  11. currency
    the metal or paper medium of exchange that is presently used
    I reminded myself that the one thing Jenny Flick couldn’t buy, no matter what she used as currency, was a ticket to drive on the high road next to people like me.
  12. glaring
    extremely obvious or conspicuous
    By mid-May, it had become glaringly obvious that I needed a job.
  13. tome
    a large and scholarly book
    I’ve been reading your self-help tomes, too, you know.
  14. jaded
    bored or apathetic after experiencing too much of something
    But now I see you’re just like every other jaded so-called adult I’ve ever met.
  15. pathetic
    deserving or inciting pity
    I flush the toilet and wash my hands, and return to the pathetic scene.
  16. remedial
    tending or intended to rectify or improve
    As I try to stay the molasses pace of my father’s remedial emotional purging, my mouth is now controlled by the thousand Charlies who are crowded in the small white room with the three of us.
  17. purge
    make pure or free from sin or guilt
    As I try to stay the molasses pace of my father’s remedial emotional purging, my mouth is now controlled by the thousand Charlies who are crowded in the small white room withthe three of us.
  18. beget
    have children
    Don’t they know that regret begets regret begets regret?
  19. topple
    fall down, as if collapsing
    He got up from his chair so fast, it toppled behind him and banged on the floor, making my mother and me jump.
  20. bisect
    cut in half or cut in two
    The night when Charlie hit me, I bisected. Half of me will never trust another living soul again. The other half already didn’t.
  21. vicarious
    experienced at secondhand
    The night Charlie hit me, I became Mrs. Kahn for a split second, in a vicarious body switch I had always feared.
  22. altruism
    the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others
    The night Charlie hit me, every ounce of altruism I had for him as a lost soul on a bad path dissolved.
  23. timorous
    shy and fearful by nature
    There’s a table of timorous kids in the back of the cafeteria, and I am one of them.
  24. outcast
    a person who is rejected (from society or home)
    Sometimes we let other outcasts squeeze in with us, but for the most part we ate alone, just the two of us.
  25. accessory
    a supplementary component that improves capability
    He was standing next to his bike, now fitted with all sorts of expensive accessories, over by the bathroom doors.
  26. trance
    a state resembling deep sleep
    I’d driven home in a trance, with the stereo off, trying not to cry.
  27. ecstatic
    feeling great rapture or delight
    I drove home prematurely ecstatic.
  28. scour
    rub hard or scrub
    He tried to hide it, but every time I came home from driving by myself after that night when the beer can dented the driver’s door, he’d scour the paint job for scratches or dings.
  29. hypocritical
    professing feelings or virtues one does not have
    (And even though I found it totally hypocritical that Mom had a practice random acts of kindness bumper sticker, I left it on to remind myself that I was not a low-road zero.)
  30. ample
    more than enough in size or scope or capacity
    “Huh,” I said, spotting Jenny’s ample eyeliner as she turned around.
  31. mere
    being nothing more than specified
    The mere thought of apathetic high school kids taking advantage of Mrs. Parker made me cringe.
  32. apathetic
    marked by a lack of interest
    The mere thought of apathetic high school kids taking advantage of Mrs. Parker made me cringe.
  33. cringe
    draw back, as with fear, pain, or embarrassment
    The mere thought of apathetic high school kids taking advantage of Mrs. Parker made me cringe.
  34. rationalize
    employ logic or reason
    I rationalized and used my head.
  35. mulch
    small pieces of organic material spread on soil
    My farthest and final run is out to the government town-houses that they just built on Hammer Lane. Nice place—new, beige siding, nice landscaping with mulch.
Created on Tue Apr 24 19:18:19 EDT 2018 (updated Tue May 01 15:20:04 EDT 2018)

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