The Marvellers: List 5

by Dhonielle Clayton
In this first book of The Conjureverse series, eleven-year-old Ella Durand is admitted into the Arcanum Training Institute for Marvelous and Uncanny Endeavors, where she must prove to the magical sky-dwellers that her earthly background and Underworld abilities can be trusted.

This list covers Part IV: The Ace of Anarchy.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 10 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. oblige
    provide a service or favor for someone
    “Welcome. Please sit and thank you for coming all this way.” She waved her hand to a nearby seat. “How was the journey?”
    He obliged and removed his signature top hat.
  2. hospitality
    kindness in welcoming guests or strangers
    She offered him a slice of rum cake and coffee.
    His mouth broke out into a smile. “Your hospitality is...targeted, and very un-Marvellian-like.”
  3. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    She tugged out a long rolled-up poster fastened with a threadbare ribbon.
  4. leviathan
    a massive sea creature
    The animals peeked out their cages, and a sapphire leviathan poked its head above water.
  5. procession
    the action of a group moving ahead in regular formation
    White trailers came next, carrying people in sequined outfits and feather headdresses. They jumped from trailer windows, somersaulting across the procession's rooftops.
  6. mirage
    something illusory and unattainable
    In fact, it can be something dangerously mysterious: a carnival of chaos, a mirage of make-believe, a resplendent reverie.
  7. resplendent
    having great beauty
    In fact, it can be something dangerously mysterious: a carnival of chaos, a mirage of make-believe, a resplendent reverie.
  8. quaver
    give off unsteady sounds
    Panic quavered in her voice.
  9. prone
    having a tendency
    Ella had read about the starfolk in Curious Creatures of the Marvellian World, and it was true, they weren't prone to favors.
  10. patter
    rain gently
    Its golden nose pierced through thick clouds, and light spring rain pattered against the metal.
  11. dilapidated
    in a state of decay, ruin, or deterioration
    “Seems like it's abandoned.”
    Ella pointed up at the dilapidated sign.
  12. peal
    a deep prolonged sound
    The trickle of music played, then peals of laughter.
  13. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    A face appeared in one mirror, half- obscured by a beaked mask that looked like a twisted pelican.
  14. sheer
    complete and without restriction
    For a long, horrifying moment, it was like falling down a tunnel until she found the sheer will to kick herself back to the surface.
  15. waver
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    As the liquid rushed toward her, Ella's concentration wavered, and the vines around Gia's wrists loosened.
  16. restraint
    the act of controlling by holding someone or something back
    With a roaring shout, Gia broke out of Ella's restraints with the ease of snapping ribbons wrapped around a gift-box.
  17. clobber
    strike violently and repeatedly
    Ella knocked her to the left, but Gia shoved back, and Ella tumbled into a nearby cabinet, clobbering her head.
  18. bout
    a contest or fight
    And be quick about it—you're missing Marvel Combat. First bout begins in fifteen minutes.
  19. petty
    preoccupied with unimportant matters in a spiteful way
    Ella's past jealousy felt so silly and petty in the wake of everything that had happened, especially since the egg meant so much to Brigit, who had very little, while Ella's parents would've gotten her anything she'd asked for.
  20. pummel
    strike, usually with the fist
    The ceiling sparked, the high arches of the disciplinary hall filling with light and raining down with starposts. They pummeled Dean Nabokov one after the other.
  21. irrelevant
    having no bearing on or connection with the subject at issue
    “Have you ever known her to be vio—"
    “This line of questioning is irrelevant.”
  22. prejudice
    a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue
    “You say that we must honor the Marvellian way. To honor order and tradition. But what happens when most of it is rooted in prejudice?”
  23. abhorrent
    offensive to the mind
    Our society has always struggled as new people joined, but the way we've treated the Conjure folk of the world is abhorrent.
  24. rhetoric
    loud and confused and empty talk
    You make space for some and not others. Yet you resist Conjurors and feed into anti-Conjure folk rhetoric and behavior.
  25. propagate
    cause to become widely known
    We haven't always seamlessly come together. Not in the way we like to propagate. We do a lot of talking.
  26. blasphemous
    grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred
    “Blasphemous talk.”
    “Liar!”
    “You ought to be thrown out for your conspiracy theories!”
  27. reverberate
    ring or echo with sound
    Dean Nabokov slammed her gavel down. The sound reverberated ten times louder, bringing the room to silence.
  28. auspicious
    indicating favorable circumstances and good luck
    “What is the meaning of your auspicious visit, Madame President?”
  29. balk
    show unwillingness towards
    “But we were paid. Lots of gold. Lots of ribbons. Our favorite. They gave to us to make mischief,” the third proclaimed.
    Siobhan balked. “By whom?”
  30. curlicue
    a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles
    Painted cream and pink, glass windows were piped with ribbons of gold and curlicues of crimson.
  31. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    When she stepped inside, the tiny tinkle of a bell announced her arrival. Just how she liked it. Subtle.
  32. willowy
    slender and graceful
    The woman and girl both shined like a pair of new gold stellas beneath the window globes, their arms willowy like dolls, as the older woman taught the girl how to tie a bright gossamer ribbon around a box.
  33. gossamer
    so thin as to transmit light
    The woman and girl both shined like a pair of new gold stellas beneath the window globes, their arms willowy like dolls, as the older woman taught the girl how to tie a bright gossamer ribbon around a box.
  34. distillation
    the purest and most concentrated essence of something
    “Welcome to the best perfumery in all of Paris. It is full of distillations, aromatics, concoctions, and one-of-a-kind perfumes,” she said in French.
  35. rouge
    makeup consisting of powder applied to the cheeks
    Powder puffs, brushes, and pots of rouge sat like macaroons on a candy tray.
  36. pomade
    hairdressing consisting of a perfumed oil or ointment
    “You may say, Who needs perfume? Who needs bath salts? Or lotions and pomades? You might say that it's unnecessary. But I urge you to think again. The art of perfume has been around since the ancient Egyptians. Does anyone know why it's stood the test of time?”
  37. reinvigorate
    impart new strength, vitality, or energy
    Thoughts of Gia’s daughter, Beatrice...or Brigit as she was now known, reinvigorated her, made her certain that what she was doing was right.
  38. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    A rumor had circulated that he wouldn't be returning after his ordeal.
  39. camaraderie
    the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability
    “It provides camaraderie and connection between our very different selves. We can't wait to meet the newest stars to our Arcanum constellation.”
  40. apparatus
    equipment designed to serve a specific function
    The machine's warmth radiated as if the sun had been twisted into brass. Up close, the apparatus had several compartments marked with the five Paragons: an eye, an ear, a mouth, a hand, and a heart.
Created on Mon Nov 06 09:05:48 EST 2023 (updated Tue Nov 07 12:52:35 EST 2023)

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