Ghost Boys: List 5

by Jewell Parker Rhodes
In this thought-provoking exploration of bias and injustice, a twelve-year-old boy meets the ghost of Emmett Till (an African-American teen who was lynched in 1955) in the afterlife.

This list covers pages 144–208 of the 2018 Little, Brown and Company edition.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5

Here are links to our lists for other books by Jewell Parker Rhodes: Ninth Ward, Towers Falling
30 words 400 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. lynch
    kill without legal sanction
    Afterwards, Pop said the KKK began lynching.
  2. flit
    move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
    Neighbors are asleep. The moon shines. Moths flit.
  3. segregated
    separated or isolated from others or a main group
    My neighborhood’s poor, segregated.
  4. sharecropper
    a tenant farmer who owes a portion of each harvest for rent
    My uncle was a sharecropper.
  5. tenant
    someone who pays rent to use property owned by someone else
    But he lived in the nicest tenant house on Frederick Plantation. It was a run-down shack with a tin roof.
  6. scamper
    run or move about quickly or lightly
    Squirrels scamper.
  7. desperate
    showing extreme urgency or intensity because of great need
    “Here's different,” says Simeon, fierce, desperate. “Tell him, Maurice. Folks don't care about black people. Don't like black people.”
  8. outrage
    a feeling of righteous anger
    He walks away. Not seeing the woman’s outrage.
  9. dumbfounded
    as if rendered speechless with astonishment and surprise
    Curtis, like Emmett, is dumbfounded.
  10. mock
    treat with contempt
    She thinks he’s mocking, whistling at her.
  11. petrify
    cause to become stunned or immobile, as with fear or awe
    Petrified, Emmett wets himself.
  12. menace
    something that is a source of danger
    “We’re all sorry for each other. Somebody decided they didn’t like us. We were a threat, a danger. A menace.”
  13. merge
    join or combine
    Merging, we cry, “Not fair. I died too young. Too soon.”
  14. dumbstruck
    so surprised or shocked as to be unable to speak
    Dumbstruck, I watch Emmett wander, zigzag down the middle of the street.
  15. listless
    lacking zest or vivacity
    But people need to be happy. Or else “Be like me,” I shout. Dead. Listless, weighted down with hard stories.
  16. linger
    be about
    Lately, I’ve been lingering on my street.
  17. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    Wind billows, flaps the curtains.
  18. partition
    a vertical structure that divides or separates
    On Carlos’s dresser are candlesticks, a drawing of a toy gun, a sandwich wrapper from the school cafeteria, a drumstick, and another drawing of two bathroom stalls with me and Carlos both inside, slapping, pounding, playing percussion on the plastic partition.
  19. rosary
    a series of prayers counted using a string of beads
    There’s a silver cross dangling from black rosary beads.
  20. sable
    of a dark somewhat brownish black
    The two look alike. Sable eyes. Black hair, black lashes. Neither is tall but I can tell Carlos is going to be strong like his dad.
  21. confining
    restricting the scope or freedom of action
    Such a tight, confining space, not expansive like the ghost world.
  22. expansive
    able or tending to extend in one or more directions
    Such a tight, confining space, not expansive like the ghost world.
  23. bawl
    cry loudly
    Bawling, the three of them are holding on to each other tight.
  24. mischievous
    naughtily or annoyingly playful
    But he looked so happy. Mischievous. I suspected there was something he was hiding.
  25. caress
    touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner
    Grandma caresses Kim’s cheek. Her thumb wipes away tears. “It’s okay, Kim. I love you.
  26. daze
    overcome as with astonishment or disbelief
    He looks dazed and in pain.
  27. pucker
    draw together into folds
    I can’t see Sarah’s face but I can see her dad’s. His tightening jaw, eyebrows rising and falling. Tears. Mouth puckering. Brow creasing. His face contorting with too many emotions.
  28. contort
    twist and press out of shape
    I can’t see Sarah’s face but I can see her dad’s. His tightening jaw, eyebrows rising and falling. Tears. Mouth puckering. Brow creasing. His face contorting with too many emotions.
  29. headstone
    a marker for a grave
    Carlos places six sugar skulls on top of my headstone.
  30. thug
    an aggressive and violent young criminal
    I wish I was playing with Carlos. Then, it would be a real game, an imagining. Fun with a friend. By myself, I’m just faking it. Risking someone might think I’m a thug and want a real shoot-out.
Created on Fri Jun 15 20:35:25 EDT 2018 (updated Mon Jun 25 11:45:48 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.