Saints and Misfits: List 5

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 236–325 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
40 words 4 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. discreet
    marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
    A group of guys coughed “Sandra” discreetly every time Frida’s self-portraits were projected onto the screen.
  2. pathos
    a quality that arouses emotions, especially pity or sorrow
    I cram the accounts full of pathos, casualty counts, and dry commentary on the illogical thought processes of warmongers.
  3. warmonger
    a person who advocates militaristic policies
    I cram the accounts full of pathos, casualty counts, and dry commentary on the illogical thought processes of warmongers.
  4. hypocritical
    professing feelings or virtues one does not have
    I’m about to avert my eyes when I remember my talk with Sandra this morning. Hypocritical.
  5. garner
    assemble or get together
    I scroll through the other J.Y. pictures on Marjorie’s account. The more gruesome the photo, the more likes it’s garnered.
  6. devoid
    completely wanting or lacking
    That’s soulless. Or, as Mr. Ram would say, devoid of fruit. Or would it be devoid of a kernel?
  7. snivel
    cry or whine with snuffling
    Don’t snivel in the basement of your dad’s million-dollar home that you can’t do anything.
  8. cloister
    seclude from the world
    I hang up and run to the bathroom, steamy and cloistering.
  9. coveted
    greatly desired
    “I’m in if you’re in. That means you get to take Ruki’s place. Ruki’s my other half, but she’s busy studying to get into med school so she’d be willing to give you her coveted spot. You can even borrow her abaya and niqab.”
  10. flippant
    showing an inappropriate lack of seriousness
    “Don’t call me again unless it’s to say you’re participating in fixing your own problems. Why should I help someone who refuses to help themselves?” Her voice has lost the flippant quality. Now it’s plain mean.
  11. forbearance
    good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
    “She did. She moved out. She talks about patience and forbearance being part of Islam, but she didn’t put up with anything in her life!” I’m yelling and crying at the same time.
  12. prowess
    a superior skill learned by study and practice
    “What were you working on until the bitter end?” I’m incredulous at her prowess.
  13. rehash
    discuss again; go back over
    What if I pretend to have fallen asleep? Then I won’t have to talk to Tats. And rehash everything.
  14. allegory
    a short moral story
    Yeah, Mr. Ram talks in fruit allegories.
    I can tell this is going to be deep.
    Some people have nice-looking husks with nothing inside. Some people have dried husks but there's fruit and even a nice kernel in there.
  15. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    We’re silent, pondering this profound question.
  16. benevolence
    disposition to do good
    Tats claps her hands at my benevolence, as I open the door. To five guys. Who begin to furtively put away their stashes of illegal substances until they see that it’s us nobodies.
  17. furtively
    in a secretive manner
    Tats claps her hands at my benevolence, as I open the door. To five guys. Who begin to furtively put away their stashes of illegal substances until they see that it’s us nobodies.
  18. exude
    make apparent by one's mood or behavior
    “Huh?” Tats says. “What was that about?” She turns to peer at me. “Is there something you’re not telling me about Sunday?”
    “No!” I say, this time not feigning confusion, but exuding it authentically.
  19. brash
    offensively bold
    Tats, the brash thing, starts running down the stairs toward him, apparently unaware that she’s huffing.
  20. livid
    furiously angry
    “Are you sitting down for this?” Tats asks my seated form. Her face is livid.
  21. respite
    a relief from harm or discomfort
    I lie sprawled on my bed. Muhammad backed away when I let myself in earlier and he got a glimpse of my face, so I have a bit of respite.
  22. vacillate
    be undecided about something
    “Janna, you’re saying something serious. How can we believe you?” Aliya’s face is flustered, vacillating between concern and disbelief.
  23. rite
    an established ceremony prescribed by a religion
    “That’s the Hindu rites. It’s family only for that. Saturday for everyone else.”
  24. compulsory
    required by rule
    The person who knows the truth should act ethically and alert the people in charge that they are making a grievous error by entrusting a position of responsibility on a person unworthy of such a trust. It becomes a compulsory act on the one who knows to ensure that this entrusting does not occur.
  25. empirical
    derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
    Amu thinks it’s like a theft or something. Some kind of action where there’s a scene of the crime, a sequence of events with anomalies or gaps you can see, and empirical proof laid out on a white-clothed table.
  26. impartial
    free from undue bias or preconceived opinions
    If only Rambo, independent and impartial, could talk.
  27. equitable
    fair to all parties as dictated by reason and conscience
    Living in a diverse society such as ours, this is bound to occur as we interact with each other on equitable and ethical terms (hopefully) in the large melting cauldron called America.
  28. loquacious
    full of trivial conversation
    And, I tremble here, does this analogy seem LOQUACIOUS? Forgive me if so and adjust as you see fit.
  29. fruition
    the attainment or fulfillment of a plan or objective
    Perhaps the most important question one would need to ask of oneself is, Do I hold dear these things? If so, a reevaluation of the attraction and the potential for realistic fruition may be in order.
  30. accentuate
    stress or single out as important
    “No, because a niqab doesn’t mean you can’t see. Actually, your sense of sight is accentuated, sort of like the way a blind person’s sense of hearing becomes sharper. Your eyes are all you’ve got so...”
  31. spiel
    artful or slick talk used to persuade
    Sausun says. “I’ll be here. You’ve got to get him into view of my laptop cam before doing your spiel. We need to get a frontal view on tape.”
  32. concubine
    a woman who cohabits with an important man
    I open a book on Istanbul and read about the Harem at the Topkapi Palace. A labyrinth of three hundred rooms housing, no, make that caging, the wives and concubines of the sultan.
  33. bravado
    a swaggering show of courage
    A burst of bravado washes over me.
  34. coddle
    treat with excessive indulgence
    He’s at an intersection with a red light. Part of me wishes he’d get hit by a car, but another part doesn’t want to see him coddled by paramedics.
  35. gait
    a person's manner of walking
    Sausun comes out and joins me on the sidewalk. We watch his retreating back. He’s slowed his running to a getaway gait.
  36. exult
    feel extreme happiness or elation
    I want to enjoy this moment, exult in it, but then there’s Sausun.
  37. filigree
    delicate and intricate ornamentation
    I take the earrings off. They’re beautiful: a filigreed pattern, like those Persian designs on mosques, supporting sapphire stones. I wonder where Dad bought them.
  38. crass
    so unrefined as to be offensive or insensitive
    Marjorie positions herself behind Tats, copying her movements in mime form, exaggerating their crass factor.
  39. listless
    lacking zest or vivacity
    It’s the June air, when you can hear every stir in hyperaudio. Maybe that’s why everyone around the pool is lying there listless.
  40. minaret
    a slender tower with balconies, especially on a mosque
    I introduce Tats and we help move a table in between two tall cardboard minaret-shaped cutouts. Each minaret is a thermometer with money amounts replacing the temperature marks.
Created on Fri Mar 01 19:26:54 EST 2019 (updated Thu Mar 14 14:45:25 EDT 2019)

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