Without Refuge: Chapters 11–16

by Jane Mitchell
Refugees from the violent civil war in their homeland of Syria, Ghalib and his family attempt to journey to safety.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–10, Chapters 11–16, Chapters 17–23
40 words 3 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dignified
    formal or stately in bearing or appearance
    “This place isn’t dignified or proper for women,” Dapir says.
  2. frenzied
    excessively agitated
    The crowds on the highway and sloping hills are not so frenzied yet.
  3. gruff
    deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or emotion
    “Hills,” says the old man to no one in particular. His voice is gruff. Before anyone replies, he’s off the highway, climbing the scrubby shale like a skinny goat.
  4. gritty
    composed of or covered with small particles
    My eyes are gritty and sore, as though full of sand.
  5. wretched
    characterized by physical misery
    Their son nods to me, then stares with red-rimmed eyes at nothing in particular. He looks as wretched as I feel.
  6. crest
    reach a high point
    I shiver with cold for the first half hour, until my blood gets moving and the sun crests the hills.
  7. resistance
    group action in opposition to those in power
    “Ali and I work with a resistance movement in Ankara,” Musab says. “We fight the Turks.”
  8. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    I hear her voice in my head, chiding me for not knowing better.
  9. channel
    a long narrow furrow cut by a natural process or by a tool
    A steep channel drops down from the trail.
  10. blunder
    make one's way clumsily or blindly
    He slides and blunders down a vertical part, finally stumbling out at the roadside.
  11. etch
    cause to stand out or be clearly defined or visible
    Impatience is etched on his face.
  12. plummet
    drop sharply
    The ground beneath me drops away and I plummet.
  13. parched
    extremely thirsty
    My lips are parched; the split has dried and cracked.
  14. sluice
    pour as if from a conduit that carries a rapid flow of water
    I sluice its coldness over my face, clean off the dried blood, wet my cracked lips.
  15. beckon
    summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture
    Musab beckons me with a jerk of his head.
  16. canvas
    a heavy, closely woven fabric
    The camp is set low in a valley, a vast spread of tents in endless rows and clusters. Many are printed with a crescent moon on their canvas roofs.
  17. caravan
    a camper equipped with living quarters
    As well as tents, there are metal shipping containers and makeshift lean-tos, caravans, tarpaulin shelters.
  18. overwhelm
    overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
    Her kindness overwhelms me and opens the darkness in my heart.
  19. skim
    move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of
    As he talks, the doctor’s hands skim over my face, my arms, my head.
  20. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    The flaps at the open doorway billow in and out, cooling the heat-heavy air.
  21. awning
    a canvas canopy to shelter people or things from rain or sun
    We pass shipping containers, caravans, metal huts with awnings, tents and a handful of concrete buildings.
  22. falafel
    fried croquette of mashed chickpeas and spices
    A shop made from blue tarpaulin sells fried potatoes and falafel, bowls of rice, and sweet tea.
  23. reflective
    capable of physically throwing back light or sound
    At the back of a truck, people in reflective jackets carry boxes of vegetables, sacks of food and bags of flour into a large tent.
  24. ration
    a fixed portion that is allotted
    “Families collect rations here and cook in the kitchens.”
  25. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
    The kitchens are a row of gas burners and open grills set on a concrete slab beneath a sheet of corrugated metal.
  26. canteen
    a room with food sold to personnel at an institution
    “You’ll eat in the canteen with the other kids in the center,” Mohammad says.
  27. ingenious
    showing inventiveness and skill
    Bushra would figure out some ingenious way to improve the drainage around the toilets.
  28. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    The aroma of food wafts toward us as we walk to the canteen tent.
  29. turmoil
    violent agitation
    A turmoil of emotions churns through me.
  30. churn
    be agitated
    A turmoil of emotions churns through me.
  31. squabble
    argue over petty things
    I sound like Alan when he squabbles with his little friends.
  32. gradual
    proceeding in small stages
    Mohammad walks between us, but gradually he pulls back.
  33. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    He tries to be subtle but it’s really obvious.
  34. bewildered
    extremely confused and uncertain what to do
    She looks bewildered from saying so much.
  35. dialect
    the usage or vocabulary characteristic of a group of people
    Kids from different backgrounds and parts of Syria all cram into the tent. We speak different dialects and have learned different subjects.
  36. nape
    the back side of the neck
    The barber holds up the long strands of hair curling down the nape of my neck.
  37. consuming
    very intense
    Her consuming love is like flowers blossoming over my fears.
  38. immense
    unusually great in size or amount or extent or scope
    Shadows lose their immense and wondrous shapes.
  39. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    He pries the card from Baba’s phone.
  40. disquiet
    the trait of seeming ill at ease
    Safaa’s laughter shatters our awkwardness like glass breaking. From that moment, we’re comfortable again, sitting on the broken-down fence. The disquiet of recent days burns away like morning mist.
Created on Mon Jul 02 17:23:46 EDT 2018 (updated Mon Jul 09 16:27:12 EDT 2018)

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