The Adoration of Jenna Fox: List 5

by Mary E. Pearson
Jenna wakes up from a coma with no memory of her previous life. As her strangely secretive parents try to rebuild her identity, she becomes more and more determined to discover the truth about who she really is.

This list covers Backup–Two Hundred and Sixty Years Later.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. vigil
    the rite of staying awake for devotional purposes
    Walking toward them, I feel like I am interrupting a candlelit dinner party instead of a frightened vigil.
  2. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    He takes a bite of cheese and then nonchalantly washes it down with a swig of wine.
  3. impervious
    not admitting of passage or capable of being affected
    All three stare at me, the impervious Jenna Fox, at the center of attention once again.
  4. wisp
    a thin tuft, piece, or amount of something
    Mother lifts her hair off her shoulders and blows at the wisps on her forehead.
  5. sensory
    relating to or concerned in sensation
    “But it’s a mind without any sensory input. It’s like limbo or a dreamworld.”
  6. limbo
    an imaginary place for lost or neglected things
    “But it’s a mind without any sensory input. It’s like limbo or a dreamworld.”
  7. transpire
    come about, happen, or occur
    We all know that opportunity would never transpire.
  8. filibuster
    a tactic for delaying legislation by making long speeches
    It is the longest filibuster in history.
  9. commandeer
    take arbitrarily or by force
    For this, Rae has commandeered the floor.
  10. fugue
    a musical form consisting of a repeated theme
    It feels like a fugue and my drunken fingers are tangled trying to play it.
  11. esteemed
    having an illustrious reputation; respected
    “Do we dare go down that path? My fellow lawmakers. My esteemed senators. Can we take that chance?”
  12. counterargument
    an opinion offered in opposition to another position
    “But,” Mitch says, “the counterargument is that the FSEB is a bureaucratic financial drain that often impedes lifesaving measures.”
  13. bureaucratic
    of or relating to unnecessary procedures and red tape
    “But,” Mitch says, “the counterargument is that the FSEB is a bureaucratic financial drain that often impedes lifesaving measures.”
  14. impede
    be a hindrance or obstacle to
    “But,” Mitch says, “the counterargument is that the FSEB is a bureaucratic financial drain that often impedes lifesaving measures.”
  15. prod
    urge on; cause to act
    Rae continues with the lesson, trying to prod us to share our opinions, but an unexpected blanket has come down on us.
  16. pallor
    an unnatural lack of color in the skin
    I notice Allys’s face is damp, with a dull yellow pallor, while her hands remain a cool, creamy prosthetic peach.
  17. mottled
    having spots or patches of color
    Their bark is soft velvet, mottled and creamy, and their scent is pungent.
  18. splurge
    be showy or ostentatious
    “Or to make matters simpler, and save you some time, my parents could just pop my backup in the mail instead. Parcel post could take me to Italy, probably for a lot less expense and worry. Or if they really want to splurge, they could overnight me with Air Express. Or they could—”
  19. delirium
    a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion
    The rising delirium in my voice makes me stop my rant.
  20. touchstone
    a basis for comparison
    Do certain events in our lives leave a permanent mark, freezing a piece of us in time, and that becomes a touchstone that we measure the rest of our lives against?
  21. renegade
    someone who rebels and becomes an outlaw
    We were only rule followers pretending to be renegades.
  22. arabesque
    position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind
    Jenna floats across the stage. Her movements are precise. Her arms are curved in a graceful arch. Her feet pointing, her legs extending, arabesque, Jenna..
  23. bodice
    part of a dress above the waist
    I remember that night, the feel of the slipper, the ribbon snug at my ankles, the tight bodice of my costume that showed off my perfect tiny waist, the moisture forming at the nape of my neck.
  24. zealous
    marked by active interest and enthusiasm
    Their zealous applause erases the gap.
  25. incessantly
    without interruption
    Forever adv. 1. Without ever ending, eternally: to last
    forever. 2. Continually, incessantly, always.
  26. girth
    the distance around something, especially a person's body
    The visitor’s back is to me, but his girth is oddly familiar.
  27. compliant
    disposed to act in accordance with someone's wishes
    He’s catching on. He knows I am becoming more than he planned. More than the endlessly compliant fourteen-year-old he loved.
  28. concede
    be willing to yield
    “I’ll figure it out,” I say.
    He concedes.
  29. purgatory
    a temporary condition of torment or suffering
    Their purgatory will go on and on, and somehow they’ll always know that I could have saved them.
  30. transfix
    render motionless because of surprise, terror, or awe
    The flashing of white, pink, and green briefly transfixes me.
  31. intuition
    instinctive knowing, without the use of rational processes
    Which neurochips are already reaching beyond what my neurons know? How are they telling me? Or is it simply what they call intuition?
  32. size up
    look at closely in order to form an opinion about
    We are being watched. Eyes size up our car.
  33. systemic
    affecting an entire structure, network, or complex of parts
    “Allys is assigned to Comfort Care only. Her liver is shutting down. And her lungs. Heart. Kidneys. Shall I go on? Pretty much all of her organs are in some stage of failure. And on top of that, her condition has triggered systemic lupus. Her body is basically attacking itself.”
  34. suppress
    control and refrain from showing
    His shoulders quake and soft moaning breaths escape as he tries to suppress his grief.
  35. understatement
    something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast
    “That’s an understatement. I’m dying. When organs start shutting down, it doesn’t take long. I always knew it was a possibility. My parents were in denial.”
  36. moot
    of no legal significance, as having been previously decided
    “I guess it’s moot at this point,” Ethan sighs.
  37. finite
    bounded in magnitude or spatial or temporal extent
    My fingers surround the six-inch-square box. Small, finite, and yet as infinite as a black hole in a galaxy.
  38. fanfare
    a gaudy outward display
    There is no fanfare. The sun doesn’t stop its ascent.
  39. cupola
    a roof or part of a roof in the form of a dome
    I stop in the crosshairs of the church and look upward to the cupola.
  40. precipitous
    extremely steep
    I breathe in the difference of being on this earth now and maybe not tomorrow, the precipitous edge of something new for me but as ancient as the beginning of time.
Created on Tue Dec 11 19:48:12 EST 2018 (updated Fri Jan 11 16:01:27 EST 2019)

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