Gone Crazy in Alabama: List 4

by Rita Williams-Garcia
When sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern visit relatives in Alabama, they find themselves in the middle of an unexpected family feud. Learn these words from the last book in the Gaither Sisters trilogy.

This list covers Like a Bird in the Sky–Gone.

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

Here are links to our lists for other books by Rita Williams-Garcia: One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven, Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
35 words 13 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. arrogance
    overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner
    “Forgive man his arrogance, Lord God.”
  2. smite
    inflict a heavy blow on, with the hand, a tool, or a weapon
    “Send your arrows, smite him down, Lord.”
  3. repent
    turn away from sin or do penitence
    Big Ma and Ma Charles asked all to repenteth: the astronauts, mission control in Houston for thinking they had control, and the TV station for cutting off the morning gospel hour to broadcast the space launch.
  4. gospel
    the written body of teachings accepted by a religious group
    Big Ma and Ma Charles asked all to repenteth: the astronauts, mission control in Houston for thinking they had control, and the TV station for cutting off the morning gospel hour to broadcast the space launch.
  5. endeavor
    a purposeful or industrious undertaking
    Pastor Curtis, who had on Sunday proclaimed the Apollo mission an ungodly endeavor, said he’d be taking Wednesday morning prayer service off so he wouldn’t miss the liftoff.
  6. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    Finally, a glimpse of the giant rocket, JimmyTrotter’s precious Saturn V, materialized out of snow, fuzz, and horizontal lines.
  7. aviation
    the art of operating aircraft
    “I wouldn’t mind getting into an aviation program,” JimmyTrotter said.
  8. billow
    rise up as if in waves
    Every ten or fifteen seconds or so, the mission control person counted down by “T-minus” and threw in “We are a go,” while clouds of smoke billowed and they showed the rocket from close up and then from far away.
  9. whinny
    make a characteristic sound, of a horse
    “I’m trying to grow you into a young lady. Not a horse.” To that, Fern neighed and Vonetta whinnied and shot in a “Greedy gut.”
  10. toll
    value measured by what must be done to obtain something
    The constant coverage of the space program had taken its toll on Big Ma, and she missed hearing about other news in the world.
  11. bay
    bark with prolonged noises, of dogs
    I almost fell asleep on JimmyTrotter’s shoulder but Caleb bayed long, fitful notes and wouldn’t stop.
  12. fitful
    occurring in spells and often abruptly
    I almost fell asleep on JimmyTrotter’s shoulder but Caleb bayed long, fitful notes and wouldn’t stop.
  13. stride
    walk with long steps
    He strode over and bent low to kiss Ma Charles. “I have to be going. See about Miss Trotter.”
  14. simulation
    representing the real world by a computer program
    But at this point, they weren’t showing the telecast of the real Apollo 11 spacecraft, only a simulation of it racing toward the moon.
  15. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    Big Ma uttered a faint “Yes, Ma,” mesmerized by the darkness and glow of black-and-white photos of the sorry Ted Kennedy and the drowned blond secretary who could not be saved.
  16. grave
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    When the newscaster gravely reminded us that this new tragedy sealed the final ending to “our nation’s Camelot story,” Big Ma said, “Yes, sir. It surely does.”
  17. gloat
    dwell on with satisfaction
    She almost smiled, but then fixed her face, probably so as not to gloat over Miss Trotter’s family tragedy.
  18. module
    detachable compartment of a spacecraft
    The lunar module separated from the command module and landed on the moon’s surface that Saturday afternoon.
  19. transistor
    a semiconductor device capable of amplification
    We told him he’d missed the little silver men that came to greet the lunar module, but he pulled out his transistor radio and laughed in our faces.
  20. frolic
    play boisterously
    Two things sprang to mind as I watched one astronaut on the moon, and then another astronaut running, hopping, and frolicking on the moon.
  21. hubbub
    loud confused noise from many sources
    That there was a third astronaut hovering above in the command module far above the hubbub.
  22. capsule
    a spacecraft designed to transport people and support life
    I thought it was funny when one of the astronauts called their space capsule a “happy home.”
  23. cobbler
    a pie made of fruit with rich biscuit dough on top
    A happy home meant having everyone under one roof, sitting around the table, eating a peach cobbler or pecan pie.
  24. graze
    feed as in a meadow or pasture
    “I know what I said and why. They don’t have grass at the dairy factory,” Ma Charles said. “And if they do, believe me, those factory cows don’t graze on grass that springs out of dirt. I’m not ignorant,” she said.
  25. ludicrous
    inviting ridicule
    “You won’t pour a bowl of prison milk in this house.” As ludicrous as she sounded, she meant it.
  26. wail
    emit long loud cries
    “I want it!” Vonetta wailed.
    “You’ll take nothing,” Ma Charles said.
  27. spiteful
    showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt
    “She’s doing this to pay me back because all my folks are living and all hers—but one—have gone to glory. I never heard of anything more spiteful.”
  28. bask
    derive or receive pleasure from
    Vonetta seemed to bask in our insults, wearing each one proudly. “I don’t care what you call me. I’m getting my milk.”
  29. tramp
    travel on foot, especially on a walking expedition
    I was sweating from tramping through fields and trees in the heat.
  30. wrath
    intense anger
    Maybe there was something to what Miss Trotter, Ma Charles, and Big Ma had to say about man sending things out of this earth poking holes in the sky, and having wrath hurled back down at him.
  31. confirm
    establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
    We had electrical storms in Brooklyn but nothing to confirm God’s anger.
  32. urgent
    compelling immediate action
    Mr. Lucas was on his way over. His walk was more urgent than Big Ma’s.
  33. seep
    pass gradually or leak or as if through small openings
    Big Ma looked down at the dirt tracks. She saw where they were headed. I heard a small but deep moan seep from her.
  34. flicker
    move back and forth very rapidly
    My pecan tree leaves flickered toward it, even though the dark thing was far away.
  35. daze
    overcome as with astonishment or disbelief
    Big Ma seemed dazed or hypnotized by the dark out there.
Created on Tue Feb 12 20:57:20 EST 2019 (updated Thu Feb 28 15:26:52 EST 2019)

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.