Elatsoe: Chapters 27–36

by Darcie Little Badger
Ellie, a Native American girl with supernatural powers, attempts to solve a family member's murder.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–16, Chapters 17–26, Chapters 27–36
40 words 21 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. respective
    considered individually
    “Phones charged?” Ellie's mother asked, and everybody checked their respective devices.
  2. devoid
    completely wanting or lacking
    Children played with the unbridled enthusiasm that summer vacation, devoid of early mornings and deadlines, permitted.
  3. throng
    a large gathering of people
    A fortune teller, a balloon animal artist, and a magician entertained throngs of people under separate tents.
  4. finagle
    achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
    I’ll try to finagle a way inside too.
  5. expunge
    remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
    It was difficult to expunge stains from anything absorbent and pale-colored, yet the carpet was bright as fresh snow.
  6. visage
    the human face
    Vivian wasn’t facing the mirror anymore; had Trevor’s visage disappeared, or was he still grinning at the women?
  7. discreet
    not easily noticeable
    "It's a discreet way for servants to enter and exit the house. Rich people are so easy to offend."
  8. gourmand
    a person who is devoted to eating and drinking to excess
    “I was born human, you know. Still am human, where it counts. It's been a couple hundred years since I ate a solid meal, though." He shrugged. “Oh, well. I’m no gourmand."
  9. embroil
    force into some kind of situation or course of action
    A couple lawyers from New York are embroiled in a bidding war for him.
  10. reticent
    reluctant to draw attention to yourself
    “My name,” he said, softly, almost reticently, “is Glorian, and I was born along the bank of our fertile Kunétai over two hundred years ago...”
  11. fare
    proceed, get along, or succeed
    Ellie did not, however, know how the mammoth would fare without her beloved Grandma, especially in a claustrophobic hallway.
  12. abreast
    alongside each other, facing in the same direction
    Much like the staircase in their high school, it was wide enough to walk four abreast, so Jay and Ellie shared steps, each holding their own rail.
  13. erratic
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    His light flickered erratically, as if tethered to his emotions.
  14. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    Jay tentatively knocked on the lid and pressed his ear against the surface, listening.
  15. litany
    a prayer consisting of a series of invocations by the priest with responses from the congregation
    She disregarded a litany of jokes because, to be honest, Ellie didn't want her last words to involve screw-related puns.
  16. inertia
    the tendency of something to stay in rest or motion
    She flew back, struck the cement ground, and rolled once before a metal coffin broke her inertia.
  17. profusely
    in very large amounts or quantities; extremely
    Plus, Glorian’s leg bled profusely, unable to heal around Kirby's spectral teeth, which stubbornly held fast.
  18. spectral
    resembling or characteristic of a phantom
    Plus, Glorian's leg bled profusely, unable to heal around Kirby's spectral teeth, which stubbornly held fast.
  19. relinquish
    release, as from one's grip
    Kirby gave Glorian’s leg a final shake before relinquishing his bite.
  20. pallor
    an unnatural lack of color in the skin
    Although the skin still felt warm, it had a waxy pallor.
  21. emissary
    someone sent to represent another's interests
    I am his spiritual footprints in the earth. I am, Ellie, an emissary of a murdered man, unleashed to right a terrible wrong.
  22. indiscriminately
    without paying attention to differences
    Cursed men drink blood indiscriminately, but Willowbee puts a bounty on the Indigenous, the poor, and the vulnerable.
  23. desecrate
    remove the sacredness from a person or an object
    The influence of its founder, Nathaniel Grace, still desecrates our bodies and our legacy with hideous magic.
  24. grandiose
    impressive because of unnecessary largeness or magnificence
    They ran to the grandiose, columned front entrance.
  25. sashay
    walk with a lofty proud gait, often to impress others
    She finished off the bubbly drink and sashayed around a corner.
  26. opulence
    wealth as evidenced by sumptuous living
    The two friends linked arms and stepped into the ballroom. Designed for hundreds—if not thousands—of guests, it was a vision of opulence.
  27. palatial
    suitable for or like a large and stately residence
    Its auburn hardwood floor shone, somebody had painted a Renaissance-inspired fresco on the ceiling, and palatial marble arches with gold accents leapt around the ballroom's perimeter.
  28. ethereal
    characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
    Her hair was the kind of shimmery, ethereal gray that an even mixture of white and black hair produced.
  29. lineage
    inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline
    "Do you know about the power of my lineage?" she asked.
  30. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    "Don’t rush stories,” Vivian chided.
  31. sacrilegious
    grossly irreverent toward what is considered holy
    "Don’t rush stories,” Vivian chided. "That’s sacrilegious.”
  32. gall
    the trait of being rude and impertinent
    He had the gall to appear insulted.
  33. intrinsically
    with respect to its inherent nature
    History is intrinsically malleable. Even without magic. It's carried in our minds, our records. Enchanted tongues spin convincing lies. With a spell, we'll persuade the world to forget this night.
  34. absolve
    excuse or free from blame
    “You backed me into a corner," Abe said, as if that absolved him of all sins.
  35. flounder
    move clumsily or struggle to move, as in mud or water
    The magic-users lost their balance and sank under a wriggling layer of ghosts. Ellie nearly laughed at the way they floundered.
  36. paradoxical
    seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true
    He knelt beneath the ghosts' paradoxically heavy bodies.
  37. autonomy
    personal independence
    "You moved my house!” Dr. Allerton cried. "How?” He actually sounded betrayed, as if Ellie had broken a promise to respect Willowbee’s spatial autonomy.
  38. listless
    lacking zest or vivacity
    Listlessly, Ellie watched the sun rise through a streaky window.
  39. screed
    a long, tedious rant
    Although her parents guarded her privacy with every trick they knew, the occasional interview request, fan message, or angry screed broke through their barrier.
  40. preternatural
    existing outside of or not in accordance with nature
    She threw herself at him, squeezing his intangible body, and he wagged his poltergeist tail so enthusiastically, it scattered balsa wood slivers in a preternatural wind.
Created on Wed Feb 03 15:39:27 EST 2021 (updated Tue Feb 09 12:20:45 EST 2021)

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.