Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Chapters 9-12

by Mildred D. Taylor
Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, this classic novel follows Cassie Logan and her family as they face prejudice and economic hardship.

Learn these word lists for the novel: Chapters 1-4, Chapters 5-8, Chapters 9-12
15 words 6677 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. persnickety
    (used colloquially) overly conceited or arrogant
    She ain’t so persnickety since Cassie stopped bein’ her friend.
  2. caress
    touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner
    Papa put out his large hand and caressed my face.
  3. rile
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    Mama said that the number was not significant enough to hurt the Wallaces, only enough to rile them, and she worried, afraid for Papa, Stacey, and Mr. Morrison to make the trip.
  4. ashen
    pale from illness or emotion
    “Yes’m,” Stacey said, his face strangely ashen, his eyes on Papa.
  5. urgency
    pressing importance requiring speedy action
    His voice was barely above a friendly whisper, but there was an urgency in it and I obeyed, scrambling over the seat to join the boys.
  6. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    Mama looked at Papa, her lips still poised to speak.
  7. curt
    brief and to the point
    “They tell you?” he asked of Mr. Morrison, his voice curt, angry.
  8. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    I had never seen him look more desolately alone, and for a fleeting second I felt almost sorry for him.
  9. despicable
    morally reprehensible
    Perhaps he felt that even a person as despicable as T.J. needed someone he could call “friend,” or perhaps he sensed T.J.’s vulnerability better than T.J. did himself.
  10. interminable
    tiresomely long; seemingly without end
    For what seemed an interminable wait, we stood watching those lights drawing nearer and nearer before Stacey clicked off the flashlight and ordered us into the forest.
  11. placid
    calm and free from disturbance
    An electric tenseness filled the air, but Mr. Jamison’s placid face was unchanged by the threat.
  12. traipse
    walk or tramp about
    “I'm gonna teach all of y’all ’bout traipsing off in the middle of the night...and especially Stacey."
  13. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    There we gazed transfixed as the flames gobbled the cotton and crept dangerously near the forest edge.
  14. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    I stood up stiffly, my eyes tearing from the acrid smoke, and looked out across the cotton to the slope, barely visible in the smoggish dawn.
  15. desolate
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    Near the slope where once cotton stalks had stood, their brown bolls popping with tiny puffs of cotton, the land was charred, desolate, black, still steaming from the night.
Created on Mon Jul 01 20:59:51 EDT 2013 (updated Thu Jun 12 12:03:42 EDT 2025)

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