Saints and Misfits: List 4

by S.K. Ali
Sophomore Janna Yusuf must navigate faith, family, and a complicated crush, all while struggling with a devastating secret.

This list covers pages 188–235 in the 2017 Simon and Schuster edition.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
35 words 4 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. devout
    deeply religious
    He was the fourth person, the one Aliya said was coming along to keep Nuah company. Her “devout” cousin.
  2. skedaddle
    run away, as if in a panic
    The less this Quiz Bowl is made into a big deal, the faster I can skedaddle out of here, I surmise.
  3. surmise
    imagine to be the case or true or probable
    The less this Quiz Bowl is made into a big deal, the faster I can skedaddle out of here, I surmise.
  4. aloof
    distant, cold, or detached in manner
    For the rest of the time, while Saint Sarah preps us with the information the studio people gave her, I keep peeking at Sausun. She looks so...so...so elegantly aloof?
  5. protrude
    extend out or project in space
    Sticky notes protrude from the book’s pages, and she closes it once in a while to mutter things to herself before checking the book again.
  6. reverberate
    ring or echo with sound
    I forget the question. The word “why” reverberates in my head. Why? Why? Why?
  7. clamor
    utter or proclaim insistently and noisily
    The Indiana greens stand up and cheer, clamoring back onstage. The audience, our home-state audience even cheers.
  8. pretense
    the act of giving a false appearance
    As our team streams offstage, I excuse myself on the pretense of needing the bathroom.
  9. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    I go down a hall beside the studio audience steps, this hallway dingier than the one we entered the studio through, and open the first door I see.
  10. minimalist
    of or relating to extreme simplification of form and color
    The restaurant patio is a composition of dark and light wood. Minimalist, lots of clean lines, good for my state of mind.
  11. aesthetics
    the branch of philosophy dealing with beauty and taste
    My brother’s fashion sensibilities run more into the support-your-sports-team end of the aesthetics spectrum, whereas this guy is wearing a faded concert T-shirt under a fashionably loud plaid jacket and fitted, distressed jeans.
  12. rakish
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
    Muhammad’s hair is short and boring, whereas this guy’s is up-and-coming, straight-up rakish.
  13. ramification
    a consequence, especially one that causes complications
    I’m still contemplating the ramifications of Saint Sarah’s reference to Muhammad as her fiancé so I don’t make any moves toward friendliness.
  14. zany
    ludicrous or foolish
    “Congratulations,” Trish says. “Wow, that’s zany. Getting married so young.”
  15. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    Saint Sarah laughs high and fake, and I become intrigued with these “friends” from her past.
  16. revel
    take delight in
    Muhammad takes no notice, probably reveling in being called her fiancé.
  17. sordid
    morally degraded
    I’m getting an intuition about maybe-not-so-saintly Sarah’s sordid past. I vow to investigate and put my findings to good use.
  18. opine
    express one's view openly and without fear or hesitation
    Sarah does realize I’m quick on the uptake though and, after a while, begins to take control of the situation by opining on diverse topics totally unrelated to 1) guys, 2) engagements or weddings, and 3) friends.
  19. boisterous
    noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline
    His eyes take a while to register me, but once they do, he giggles and scratches my face in boisterous greeting.
  20. secular
    not concerned with or devoted to religion
    He never tells Dad that as a daughter-in-law she’ll be a thorn in his secular side.
  21. hype
    blatant or sensational promotion
    Sarah sits with her legs crossed, holding a glass of water with two hands, listening and occasionally interjecting to downplay the hype.
  22. antic
    a playful, attention-getting act done for fun and amusement
    It’s not easy to take my eyes off of the YouTubers’ antics, which include going to a haunted roller-coaster-ride attendant to ask for a job haunting the place.
  23. blubber
    cry or whine with snuffling
    That gets me to stop crying. I throw the jawbreaker into the fake soil of a fake tropical plant by the window and turn my blubbery self to Sausun.
  24. elation
    a feeling of joy and pride
    “Um, hello? That’s because you have no face?” I say, elation flickering in me at the news I will be nowhere near the monster for the rest of the day.
  25. naive
    inexperienced
    It’s me. They’re laughing at me, BD. Before divorce, when I was young and naive.
  26. preemptive
    designed to prevent an anticipated situation or occurrence
    I notice he happily waves preemptively at the woman “gardening,” and she flails her arms back at the happiness of it all.
  27. skew
    turn or place at an angle
    “Yeah? What’s happening with me?” I ask, using an editing app to clone, enlarge, flip, skew, and totally mutate his picture until he looks like some bizarre freakoid.
  28. impending
    close in time; about to occur
    While Muhammad hangs around, leaning into Sarah’s driver’s-side window, I bolt to his car to get away from their waltzing talk—him, pumped up about their impending marriage, thrusting discussion topics at her; her, nimbly sidestepping every major commitment.
  29. overt
    open and observable; not secret or hidden
    OMG, Mom totally knows. She’ll never let me out of the house.
    But not overtly, because she promised me privacy. Such a lie.
  30. belie
    be in contradiction with
    “Janna, I made your favorite, salmon cakes,” Mom calls from too close to the door, her breathing, uneven and stressed, belying her chipper words.
  31. pivotal
    being of crucial importance
    She hasn’t moved from her spot in the hallway, and though Muhammad has reached the pivotal point of Sarah “declaring” her commitment to him, it isn’t him she’s staring at.
  32. quell
    overcome or allay
    I adjust my hijab and turn to snap a picture of the formation of rocks edging the walkway. To quell things.
  33. amble
    walk leisurely
    As we amble up the hill, he’s quiet and I am too, wondering what to say next.
  34. delinquent
    a young offender
    Her face instantly registers anger when she sees me. She clutches my sleeve and leads me out to the car, like I’m a juvenile delinquent she arrested.
  35. fawning
    attempting to win favor by flattery
    I’m looking up at him with this really fawning expression while he feeds the chickadee.
Created on Thu Feb 28 22:24:00 EST 2019 (updated Thu Mar 14 14:19:49 EDT 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.