Pet: Chapters 6–9

by Akwaeke Emezi
The town of Lucille is supposed to be a safe place. But when fifteen-year-old Jam learns that there is a monster on the loose, she must join forces with a supernatural creature in order to hunt it down.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–5, Chapters 6–9, Chapter 10–Epilogue
35 words 65 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. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    Your knowing, you think it gives you clarity, sight that pierces. It can be a cloud, a thing that obscures.
  2. waft
    blow gently
    Pet stepped in front of her, dropping a knee to the pavement. It became roughly her height, other than the dark red horns rising in the shine of the streetlight, and smoke wafted out of its mouth, smelling like ash.
  3. revere
    regard with feelings of respect
    Everyone revered them a little, but no one thought of them as scary, not really.
  4. warp
    bend or twist out of shape
    Jam went down to breakfast in the morning as if the skin of her life was normal, as if it hadn’t bubbled and warped and fallen off.
  5. discordant
    not in agreement or harmony
    Pet was a loud secret in her, a wrong note in the usual harmony of her house, making it discordant, guilty.
  6. warble
    sing or play with trills
    She could feel the wrongness warbling through the floorboards, and it made her want to finish the hunt quickly, so the secret would no longer be a secret, so everything could return to how it all used to be.
  7. gradation
    relative position in a ranked series
    Jam closed her eyes, feeling its warm fur through the cotton of her T-shirt, the faint coolness of its goldfeathered arms and the distinct chilliness of her mother’s hands stitched to its wrists, a gradation of temperature falling off at the extremities.
  8. extremity
    an external body part that projects from the body
    Jam closed her eyes, feeling its warm fur through the cotton of her T-shirt, the faint coolness of its goldfeathered arms and the distinct chilliness of her mother’s hands stitched to its wrists, a gradation of temperature falling off at the extremities.
  9. abstract
    not representing or imitating external reality
    So...does that mean you have a heart?
    Something like that. Not the way you humans talk about the abstract one. But I have an organ that moves fluids around in me.
  10. compose
    make calm or quiet
    Pet released her and drew back a foot or two, watching her as she composed herself.
  11. seamless
    perfectly consistent and coherent
    You need intimacy to be a unit, and the seamless knowing Pet had of her made up a little for how much she missed the closeness she used to share with her parents.
  12. falter
    speak haltingly
    Jam’s voice faltered when she told him about Pet’s mission, the hunt for a monster in Lucille, and for a second the truth wanted to wing out of her mouth.
  13. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    Pet materialized with a bit more style than usual, the air of the studio thickening into a ball of smoke that swelled into a roiling cloud, getting larger and larger until it started to solidify into Pet’s shape.
  14. roiling
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    Pet materialized with a bit more style than usual, the air of the studio thickening into a ball of smoke that swelled into a roiling cloud, getting larger and larger until it started to solidify into Pet’s shape.
  15. oscillate
    move or swing from side to side regularly
    He tugged on Jam’s hand, then let it go, his head oscillating between her and Pet.
  16. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Pet moved its head toward Jam, and she stifled a laugh.
  17. exasperation
    a feeling of annoyance
    It was radiating layers of exasperation into the air, as if Redemption was an overexcited puppy.
  18. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    Redemption continued to stare at Pet and raised an admonishing finger at her without bothering to turn around.
  19. inevitably
    in such a manner as could not be otherwise
    Even when he tried not to, his head still swiveled as if tugged by a magnet, inevitably dragging his eyes over.
  20. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    Jam nodded in solidarity at the mystery of libraries, then shot Pet a warning glare as soon as Ube turned back around.
  21. sprawling
    spreading out in different directions
    “Come, come,” he said, and led them to one of the sprawling wooden tables in the middle of the room.
  22. tamp
    press down tightly
    Pet glimmered back into sight for Redemption, who jumped a little in surprise but tamped it down quickly.
  23. pleat
    a fold in a garment or piece of fabric
    It floated to the floor and landed without a sound, lying there as if it hadn’t done anything, all angled in its pleats.
  24. malice
    the quality of threatening evil
    The image of the monster in Jam’s head became even darker, the corners of its malice shadowed and sharp.
  25. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    Jam gave him a tentative smile.
  26. cascade
    a succession of stages, processes, or units
    This wasn’t a cascade she wanted to set off.
  27. abashed
    feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious
    Redemption looked slightly abashed, but his jaw stayed stubborn. “I can’t have someone hurt my brother and nothing happen to them, Jam. You know I can’t.”
  28. idle
    lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility
    She shot Pet a stern glare as she said that, and Pet looked back with its nothing face, its claws clicking against each other idly.
  29. interject
    speak abruptly, especially as an interruption
    We keep getting close, and you keep hesitating, Pet’s voice interjected, driving through her skull.
  30. aback
    by surprise
    To her surprise, Pet seemed taken aback.
  31. contemplation
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    It didn’t say anything at first but followed behind Jam and Redemption, reeking of contemplation.
  32. hinder
    be an obstacle to
    Agitation like this will only hinder the hunt.
  33. reconcile
    bring into consonance or accord
    Jam kept having to reconcile those two worlds: one in which Pet was loud and present, and the other one, the one everyone else saw, where Pet didn’t even exist.
  34. plantain
    starchy banana-like fruit
    “Allyuh does worry me so, I swear. Can’t feed yourselves without reminders.” She shooed them into the kitchen, where Aloe was frying plantains in slanted golden slices.
  35. periphery
    the outside boundary or surface of something
    Jam ground some pink salt over them and nibbled at a caramelized edge, watching Redemption’s face in her periphery.
Created on Mon Oct 14 09:33:12 EDT 2019 (updated Mon Oct 14 14:49:35 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.