Today Tonight Tomorrow: List 4

by Rachel Lynn Solomon
High school senior and budding romance novelist Rowan Luisa Roth teams up with her academic rival to win a game that sends them throughout Seattle.

This list covers pages 200–276 in the 2020 edition published by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 9 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. spiel
    artful or slick talk used to persuade
    Even after his mini romance-novel spiel at dinner, this signing is something I have to experience on my own.
  2. cathartic
    emotionally purging
    It’s a bit cathartic to mention the guide out loud.
  3. wallow
    devote oneself entirely to something
    Instead I wallowed in my FOMO all night, scrolling through social media while rereading my favorite Delilah Park, trying to ignore the twinge that felt like regret.
  4. implement
    pursue to a conclusion or bring to a successful issue
    The shortest game of Howl lasted 3 hours and 27 minutes. The longest game lasted 4 days and 10 hours, causing future game makers to implement the Sunday graduation deadline.
  5. indistinct
    not clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand
    Indistinct chatter fills the exhibit as another group of people enters.
  6. emissary
    someone sent to represent another's interests
    Savannah’s emissaries continue making their way through the exhibit, stopping every so often to take a closer look at something.
  7. tacit
    implied by or inferred from actions or statements
    “I think we’re safe,” I tell him, and when I don’t get a response, I interpret it as tacit agreement.
  8. stilted
    stiff and strained; lacking natural ease
    “I didn’t hear. I was—worried,” I say, stilted, because it sounds so ridiculous.
  9. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    Though the sky looks ominous, we decide to walk.
  10. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    “It means 'anything sounds profound in Latin.’ The literal translation is 'everything said in Latin seems deep.’ But that sounds like Yoda-speak.”
  11. progressive
    favoring or promoting modern or innovative ideas
    The street we’re on is mostly residential, pastel-painted houses with progressive political signs in their front yards.
  12. scour
    examine minutely
    The suits help. I scoured Goodwill until I found what I wanted.
  13. insufferable
    extremely unpleasant or annoying
    “I’d hope that you of all people wouldn’t treat me differently.”
    “Okay. I won’t. I still find you quite insufferable.”
  14. meticulous
    marked by extreme care in treatment of details
    By the time we reach the car, we’re soaked and shivering. I hurl myself inside. Neil is much more meticulous than I am, drying his glasses and the face of his watch with a few delicate swipes against the seat cushion.
  15. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    Flustered Neil is never not funny. “I knew what you meant. Thanks.”
  16. sentimental
    marked by tender, romantic, or nostalgic emotion
    “I can add this to the list of my sentimental late-night Westview memories,” I say.
  17. rail
    criticize severely
    While my friends and I have had these kinds of discussions—Kirby won’t miss an opportunity to rail on the patriarchy—I’ve never talked like this with a guy.
  18. patriarchy
    a form of social organization in which men hold power
    While my friends and I have had these kinds of discussions—Kirby won’t miss an opportunity to rail on the patriarchy—I’ve never talked like this with a guy.
  19. soundly
    completely and absolutely
    The thought has crossed my mind a couple times today—before I’ve soundly dismissed it.
  20. elaborate
    add details to clarify an idea
    “I just wish it didn’t have to end right now,” I say, though part of me would love for him to elaborate on all the specific ways in which I’m kind of great.
  21. havoc
    violent and needless disturbance
    I tug up my knee socks, which are damp and muddy. Howl has wreaked havoc on my perfect last-day outfit.
  22. trope
    a common or clichéd plot device, idea, or theme in a creative work
    Opposites attract is my favorite trope, so it made sense to start there. Because, of course, the thing about opposites: they always have a lot more in common than they think.
  23. impeccable
    without error or flaw
    She remembered the exact moment he'd walked into the office, his suit impeccable, not a hair on his head out of place.
  24. swanky
    impressively fashionable and elegant
    She hadn't gone on a vacation or a second date since law school, but it would all be worth it when she had a swanky corner office too.
  25. composure
    steadiness of mind under stress
    When I finally regain enough composure to look at him, his cheeks are flushed.
  26. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
    I could have spent more time with Kirby and Mara instead of trying to interpret Spencer’s latest cryptic text.
  27. complement
    make perfect or supply what is wanting
    They’re about the characters and their relationships. How they complement and challenge each other, how they overcome something together.
  28. inordinate
    beyond normal limits
    He places everything on the circulation desk, spending an inordinate amount of time arranging each object, as though mulling what he’s going to say next.
  29. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    He places everything on the circulation desk, spending an inordinate amount of time arranging each object, as though mulling what he’s going to say next.
  30. unwavering
    marked by firm determination or resolution
    Behind his glasses, his gaze is steady. Unwavering.
  31. falter
    be or become weak, unsteady, or uncertain
    His expression doesn’t falter.
  32. earnest
    devout or heartfelt
    And God, he looks so earnest in the darkness that I have no idea why I didn’t give him my hand immediately.
  33. rogue
    disposed to or engaged in defiance of authority or rules
    My brain has gone rogue, and with it my trembling hands, which he tries his best to keep steady.
  34. ironic
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    He wouldn’t take ridiculous selfies with me and post them with ironic hashtags I kind of unironically like, or declare his love with a bouquet of roses.
  35. balmy
    mild and pleasant
    The mood changed so quickly it gave me whiplash, the temperature in the room dropping from balmy to subzero.
  36. connote
    express or state indirectly
    Was I so worried about the kind of friendliness a “yes” would connote that I leaped to “no”? Is my subconscious trying to protect me from getting too close, or am I really that scared of what acknowledging these feelings would mean?
  37. extravagant
    characterized by richness and abundance
    Though I doubt the actual prom was quite as extravagant. They probably had the generic brand of Skittles.
  38. relinquish
    part with a possession or right
    During the car ride, I couldn’t stop thinking about the dance. I was so wrapped up in it that I relinquished music privileges, letting him play a Free Puppies! song he claimed was their best.
  39. rationalize
    defend, explain, or make excuses for by reasoning
    Being that close to him in the library muddied my feelings. I tried to rationalize it: I’m exhausted, and the game has turned me delirious. My mind is playing tricks on me, convincing me I feel something for him I’m positive I didn’t feel yesterday.
  40. lilt
    a jaunty rhythm in music or speech
    “Cream cheese icing?” he asks, a teasing lilt to his voice.
Created on Tue Jan 02 12:31:58 EST 2024 (updated Wed Jan 03 12:27:09 EST 2024)

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.