What If It's Us: Chapter 33–Epilogue

by Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera
Arthur and Ben couldn't be more different. Arthur, a Jewish teenager from Georgia, is in New York City for a summer internship that he hopes will help him get into an Ivy League college. Ben, a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, is attending summer school so that he can avoid repeating 11th grade. Find out what happens when a series of coincidences brings these two together.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–11, Chapters 12–21, Chapters 22–32, Chapter 33–Epilogue

Here are links to our lists for other works by Becky Albertalli: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Leah on the Offbeat

Here is a link to our lists for another work by Adam Silvera: They Both Die at the End
25 words 76 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. emphatic
    forceful and definite in expression or action
    I nod emphatically.
  2. elaborate
    add details to clarify an idea
    “You were just about to elaborate on me being irresistible.”
  3. nape
    the back side of the neck
    I love the softness of the nape of his neck.
  4. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    ›“With Joe watching wistfully.”
    “So wistfully.”
  5. promptly
    at once (usually modifies an undesirable occurrence)
    “Your parents didn’t want you to be alone on your birthday. Although…” She glances at Ben, who promptly turns bright red.
  6. brace
    prepare for something unpleasant or difficult
    I just have no idea what our next chapters look like. What kind of ending we need to brace ourselves for.
  7. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    He tucks his head in the crook of my neck and sniffs, and my heart beats in triple time. He’s so palpably sad.
  8. pine
    have a desire for something or someone who is not present
    You know, they’re pining, maybe they talk on the phone a few times, someone gets a haircut or grows a beard or whatever, so you can see the passage of time.
  9. aback
    by surprise
    Ben looks taken aback. “Um. I have no idea.”
  10. generic
    relating to or applicable to an entire class or group
    She’s in the most generic-looking hotel room I’ve ever seen in my life.
  11. stark
    devoid of any qualifications or disguise or adornment
    Stark white bedding, plush headboard, framed picture of the beach.
  12. fare
    proceed, get along, or succeed
    Harriett and Hudson fared better than me, as I knew they would.
  13. retrospect
    contemplation of things past
    I guess I’m grateful for it in retrospect.
  14. hail
    call for
    I hail Dylan and Harriett back over.
  15. mnemonic
    of or relating to the practice of aiding the memory
    “I’m going to teach you all my mnemonic devices—”
    “Those don’t actually work.”
    “Try me. First nine elements of the periodic table. Go.”
  16. falter
    be or become weak, unsteady, or uncertain
    He starts to smile, but it falters—and when he speaks again, his voice is so soft.
  17. boggle
    overcome with amazement
    But to everyone around me, it’s just a regular workday. Headphones and pantsuits and scrolling through phones. It boggles the mind.
  18. meme
    an amusing image that spreads rapidly through social media
    Arthur Read, my bespectacled alter ego. King of the yellow V-neck. The fist that launched a thousand memes.
  19. pensive
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    Dylan looks pensive.
  20. ellipsis
    a mark indicating that words have been omitted
    I try texting. You okay my dude?
    Nothing. Five minutes later, still nothing, not even an ellipsis, and I feel a little sick about it.
  21. commission
    charge with a task
    I owe a lot of that to the awesome book cover Dylan commissioned Samantha to design last Christmas.
  22. fluke
    a stroke of luck
    The chapter has only been up for a couple minutes and I’m already wanting to keep refreshing the page for new reads and reviews. Just to see that the previous thirty-nine chapters weren’t some fluke.
  23. sovereign
    a nation's ruler usually by hereditary right
    I want to go on Tumblr and check my tags, as if fans have already had the time to whip up some epic fan-art for the scene where Ben-Jamin single-handedly annihilates the Life Swallowers and rescues King Arturo, Duke Dill, and Sovereign Harrietta.
  24. exorcise
    expel through adjuration or prayers
    Or where Ben-Jamin teams up the Crowned Sorceress, Sam O’Mal, to exorcise the vicious spirits that were possessing Hudsonien so he can find happiness again.
  25. a cappella
    sung without instrumental accompaniment
    Like last week when I FaceTimed him from Dave & Buster’s to show him the claw machine from our first date and discovered Arthur panicking in his dorm room and ready to quit a cappella because he cut things off with Mikey.
Created on Thu Dec 13 12:27:11 EST 2018 (updated Mon Dec 17 15:46:47 EST 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.