We'll Fly Away: List 2

by Bryan Bliss
Before he was convicted of a terrible crime, Luke and his best friend Toby dreamed of escaping their small town. Moving between Luke's letters to Toby from prison and flashbacks to the boys' senior year of high school, this novel explores the challenges and choices that led Luke to death row.

This list covers Chapter 5–January 13.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 10 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. pander
    yield to; give satisfaction to
    Ricky considered Luke for another second before glancing back to Doreen, a pandering smile on his face.
  2. inexplicable
    incapable of being explained or accounted for
    Luke would lose himself on those trips, but it didn’t matter where they were, or how much fun he’d had—the same inexplicable dread slowly crept back into his body the moment they were pointed back home.
  3. incapacitate
    injure permanently
    Luke couldn’t tell if she was amused or, maybe, had already entertained the idea of incapacitating his friend.
  4. ramble
    continue talking or writing in a purposeless manner
    He was rambling and he knew it. Annie yawned, rubbing both hands through her hair.
  5. willpower
    the trait of firmly controlling your own behavior
    He didn’t know a damn thing about engines, but when he pushed the pedal down the car jerked forward with such muscle, such elegance, he had to use every bit of willpower not to open it up on the empty highway.
  6. covet
    wish, long, or crave for
    When he was younger, Toby had coveted the expensive basketball shoes everybody else wore.
  7. exception
    an instance that does not conform to a rule
    Yeah, sure—there’s some hard exceptions. Dudes who use those final words to hurt somebody, to kill one last time. But that’s the exception, T.
  8. dignity
    the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
    There’s no dignity lying on that table.
  9. cultivate
    foster the growth of
    Anyone who followed high-school wrestling could tell you: a couple of wins didn’t mean much. Something like that could be cultivated.
  10. rationalize
    defend, explain, or make excuses for by reasoning
    Nobody understood cutting weight. No matter how many times he rationalized it, explained that he didn’t mind the discipline. And that’s all it was: discipline.
  11. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    Annie smirked, conceding the point with a nod.
  12. culmination
    a concluding action
    Going to Iowa never felt like a choice. It was a culmination, an ending.
  13. impending
    close in time; about to occur
    She made the turn that would lead them back to the apartment complex. Luke felt the impending good-bye in his gut.
  14. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    Luke tried to conjure an explanation.
  15. infatuation
    a foolish and usually extravagant passion or love
    And even if that infatuation only lasted two or three weeks—because they rarely lasted any longer—Luke should’ve said something.
  16. manicure
    trim carefully and neatly
    A month, maybe two, and the families with their out-of-state plates and minivans that were a tick too nice for the parking lot would disappear like a magic trick. To houses on the lake or one of the manicured subdivisions miles from here.
  17. catatonic
    characterized by unresponsiveness or lack of movement
    The twins were near catatonic when the server finally brought the check, pausing momentarily as if he had just realized they were a table full of kids.
  18. absolution
    the condition of being formally forgiven by a priest
    But maybe this was his way of apologizing. Sweeping it under the rug and pretending it had never happened. A convenient absolution.
  19. jovial
    full of or showing high-spirited merriment
    It sounded almost jovial, as if they’d been playing hide and seek.
  20. indisposed
    somewhat ill or prone to illness
    “The truck is...indisposed,” Jimmy said, chuckling to himself.
  21. pacify
    ease the anger, agitation, or strong emotion of
    All Toby wanted to do was get him home, so he held up his hands like he was pacifying one of the twins.
  22. graze
    scrape gently
    Jimmy’s punch only grazed Toby’s cheek, the seat belt holding him back.
  23. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    He scrabbled to get it off as Toby threw himself out of the car.
  24. infraction
    a violation of a law or rule
    He’s been here a few years longer than me, but has probably twenty or thirty more infractions.
  25. size up
    look at closely in order to form an opinion about
    It was like I had never left the mat, T. I had that dude sized up and was about to take him down when Eddie pulled me outside, stopping once he got to the basketball courts.
  26. revelation
    an enlightening or astonishing disclosure
    That was the truth, and it hit him like a revelation.
  27. idle
    run disconnected
    So he said nothing as Annie parked in the farthest corner from the door, letting the car idle as they sat in silence.
  28. futile
    producing no result or effect
    Luke nodded absently at the joke, refusing to stop his futile search of the parking lot.
  29. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    Jimmy turned around and slunk back into the trailer.
  30. endear
    make attractive or lovable
    Luke went over to the ancient television and turned the knob, hoping it would endear Toby to the idea of staying put.
  31. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    When Luke turned around, Toby sat up completely, flinching. He rubbed his ribs gingerly as he spoke.
  32. downplay
    understate the importance or quality of
    As Luke was opening his mouth to downplay it, to tell her it wasn’t a problem—that Toby was as tough as he was annoying—Annie leaned over and kissed him.
  33. rabid
    infected by an acute viral disease of the nervous system
    If Toby came across a rabid dog, if it bit him, he wouldn’t stand there and take it.
  34. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    He wanted to feel proud, but he couldn’t muster it.
  35. concoction
    an occurrence of an unusual mixture
    The strange concoction of fear and anxiety pushed into his bones, bled through his skin.
  36. derelict
    a person without a home, job, or property
    In recent years, the scene was a weird mix of drunks, derelicts, and the occasional college students who showed up because the risk of getting a knife pulled on you sounded fun.
  37. incongruent
    not corresponding in character or kind
    She was beautiful in a way that was incongruent with the dingy Deuce.
  38. nostalgia
    a longing for something past
    Still, Toby knew Bo from the sort of beer-riddled nostalgia that Jimmy sometimes used as a replacement for throwing his fists around.
  39. embolden
    give encouragement to
    The public takedown she’d executed on him, if anything, would embolden Toby—make him like her more.
  40. mitigate
    lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
    Here’s a word that Marilyn likes to bring up: “mitigating.” That lawyer tried to get me to give him a name, anybody who would come in and make an excuse for what happened.
Created on Mon Oct 15 14:42:00 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Oct 16 10:38:54 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.