All My Rage: Part II

by Sabaa Tahir
Noor and Sal — two Pakistani American teenagers living in a small town — are falling in love as they struggle with difficult family issues.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Parts V–VI
40 words 195 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. garish
    tastelessly showy
    Clouds' Rest was fairly enveloped in drifting gossamer films, and the Half Dome loomed up in the garish light like a majestic, living creature.
  2. gossamer
    a gauze fabric with an extremely fine texture
    English was like the broken shards of glass that lined the high walls in wealthy neighborhoods. Urdu was melodic. Like gossamer, as this John Muir said.
  3. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    Toufiq laughed, rueful and charming. "I am sorry. It is a stupid thing to say."
  4. preen
    pride or congratulate oneself for an achievement
    He bragged to the chaiwallah about the Suzuki's boot, preening as the chaiwallah nodded dutifully.
  5. shalwar
    a pair of loose-fitting pants commonly worn in parts of Asia
    This morning, while putting on the shalwar-kameez she got me last Eid: Wear jeans instead of shalwar, Putar, she whispered.
  6. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    When I finally got to her hospital room, Ama's IV had been taken out, the machines clustered around her like sentinels in mourning, having failed in their mission to keep her alive.
  7. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    Gingerly, I ease away and whisper into her ear.
  8. temperamental
    subject to sharply varying moods
    Some of Ashlee's pain meds make her temperamental, and some mellow her out.
  9. competence
    the quality of being adequately or well qualified
    Before Ashlee can protest, Khadija's ushered her away with that smooth competence she must call on in courtrooms, when she's defending her clients.
  10. invoke
    request earnestly; ask for aid or protection
    Then the imam invokes the name of God, and the world tilts, because he speaks of Ama as someone who was, instead of someone who is.
  11. surreptitious
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    Uncle Faisal and Arsalan exchange a surreptitious glance.
  12. perfidy
    an act of deliberate betrayal
    But you know you stole them. Noor looked so perplexed at my perfidy that I started to squirm.
  13. emblazon
    decorate, adorn, or inscribe with a design
    They are these ugly loafers with TODS emblazoned on the side.
  14. rapt
    feeling great delight and interest
    She's toying with the ends of her long hair and staring at a picture Ama put up a few months ago. It's one I took before the Fight, of the two of them drinking tea, rapt as they watched a Pakistani drama.
  15. askance
    with suspicion or disapproval
    It's a clumsy change in subject and Noor looks at me askance, smiling slightly.
  16. tract
    an extended area of land
    It's in a housing tract next to a stretch of empty desert, low and pale like everything else in Juniper.
  17. deterrent
    something immaterial that interferes with action or progress
    I haven't been by in months, but the BEWARE OF DOG sign that Riaz hung up years ago as a burglar deterrent is still there.
  18. censure
    harsh criticism or disapproval
    Noor glances at the front door, shoulders caving, like she can already hear her uncle's censure.
  19. meticulous
    marked by precise accordance with details
    The page was covered in meticulous notes and faded highlighter.
  20. hovel
    small crude shelter used as a dwelling
    "He even looked like a saint. What did it get him? A hovel that collapsed on him and killed everyone he loved."
  21. coveted
    greatly desired
    He got an internship at the weapons center in Juniper—a coveted spot.
  22. ether
    a medium that was once thought to fill all space
    By the time I get home I'm not feeling better, exactly. Just less like I want a rogue tornado to snatch me up into the ether.
  23. incongruent
    not corresponding in character or kind
    It's strangely fancy, incongruent against the whitewashed cinder blocks and winter-shriveled rosebushes on either side.
  24. mercurial
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    Cancer is mercurial. Sometimes you can beat it and sometimes you can't.
  25. arrears
    the state of being behind in payments
    You are in arrears on your business loan payments. As of January 28, you are 60 days late on your payments.
  26. precipitate
    bring about abruptly
    Failure to bring your account to current by paying the full amount of $5,346.29 by April 15 will result in fees and precipitate the loss of your business—the complete seizure of all assets associated with said business.
  27. chassis
    the skeleton of a motor vehicle
    After I hand it over, the repo guy moves quickly, hooking a couple of long cables to the Civic's chassis.
  28. swathe
    wrap in or as if in strips of cloth
    The Gold Mirage Banquet Hall was swathed in artful swoops of orange and red organza.
  29. retinue
    the group following and attending to some important person
    Drums thundered in a familiar, joyful rhythm—the signal that the groom and his retinue had arrived.
  30. unrequited
    not returned in kind
    Aisha, with her unrequited flirtations at university, saw fit to supply me a small box of “necessary items."
  31. gesticulate
    show, express, or direct through movement
    Toufiq's mother gesticulated wildly to my brother.
  32. inebriated
    stupefied or excited by a chemical substance
    “She is—we think she is inebriated. Faisal mentioned the lateness of the barat—and she exploded. I could smell it on her, Misbah.”
    Of all the things I expected, a drunken mother-in-law was the last.
  33. congeal
    solidify, thicken, or come together
    It's a horror show—streaks in the toilet, toothpaste congealed on the sink, and a trash can overflowing with five days' worth of takeout boxes.
  34. counterpoint
    a musical form involving two or more melodies
    Her off-key humming is a strangely soothing counterpoint to "Comfortably Numb" blasting in one ear.
  35. nadir
    the lowest point of anything
    A shy spark kindles between us, and Noor regards me quietly, the half-moon above twinning into pale boats that drift in the nadirs of her eyes.
  36. waiver
    a formal written statement of relinquishment
    "UVA was my safety. And not a very smart one. I only picked schools I really wanted. Didn't have enough money for more applications."
    "Aren’t there fee waivers or—"
  37. charlatan
    a flamboyant deceiver
    She looked up into my eyes, and I wished I could go to every school that rejected her to confront their admissions boards and tell them that they are fools and charlatans.
  38. unfathomable
    impossible to come to understand
    Sometimes, I feel like the language of my body is equally unfathomable. I'll die being the only person who ever knew how to speak it.
  39. sodden
    wet through and through; thoroughly wet
    She gestures to my sodden shirt.
  40. overzealous
    marked by excessive enthusiasm for a cause or idea
    My descent into the criminal underworld of Juniper begins the next night in Legacy Village, one of those cookie-cutter subdivisions with a clubhouse and a fake waterfall and an overzealous gate guard.
Created on Fri Nov 04 12:26:44 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Nov 18 18:07:25 EST 2022)

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