What Beauty There Is: Chapters 32–25

by Cory Anderson
Idaho teenager Ava Bardem, daughter of a murderous thief, opposes her father by helping the sons of his imprisoned accomplice.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–19, Chapters 20–33, Chapters 32–25, Chapters 24–∞
40 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. breach
    make an opening or gap in
    His smell breaches her nose.
  2. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    His smell breaches her nose. A subtle tang.
  3. feral
    wild and menacing
    His smell breaches her nose. A subtle tang. Something musky. Feral.
  4. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    On top of the desk, a solemn row of books stands in order, arranged by author name.
  5. tome
    a large and scholarly book
    Books of philosophy. Machiavelli and Nietzsche and Sun Tzu. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. A tome of Victorian poems.
  6. burnished
    made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing
    Leather bindings, elegant craftsmanship. Tall and mystical wonders held upright by bookends of dark burnished metal.
  7. spartan
    marked by simplicity, frugality, or self-denial
    His bed is Spartan. Flat cotton; sharp, folded edges. Pillows neatly placed.
  8. decanter
    a bottle with a stopper; for serving drinks
    From the bedside table she grabs the decanter and pulls off the stopper and douses the books in whiskey, wetting Nietzsche and Sun Tzu. She flicks the lighter. Holds out the flame.
  9. foyer
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    She walks through the stone foyer and out the front door, into the falling snow.
  10. indistinct
    not clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand
    I used to have this dream that something was following me. I don’t know what it was, but I know it wanted to hurt me. I never did look back to see what the something looked like. But I know it was dark. Sort of indistinct.
  11. squalid
    foul and run-down and repulsive
    He looked around the squalid office.
  12. incandescent
    emitting light as a result of being heated
    He went to the window and pulled up the blinds and scanned the parking lot, but there was no one. Shapes of snow falling incandescent in the light.
  13. convey
    serve as a means for expressing something
    Words could not convey the dull pain of it.
  14. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    They trudged along until they came to the bridge and then Jack had to stop. He leaned on the iron rail until he got his breath.
  15. plod
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    They plodded along, with Jack moving slowly and Matty keeping close to him.
  16. tumult
    violent agitation
    On Main Street, he stopped again while snowflakes dazzled about the tumult of sky and danced in all directions.
  17. obstinate
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    “What happened?” she asked.
    He shrugged, feeling obstinate.
  18. earnest
    characterized by a firm, sincere belief in one's opinions
    Her response was casual: “Okay.”
    But Jack heard it in her voice. The pact made with him. Earnest.
    A vow.
  19. dispassionate
    unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
    The storm. Dispassionate, coldly coming.
  20. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    He stood in the blur of blue-and-red lights, looking across the fire trucks at the house. Stalks of exposed walls smoldering in the cold air.
  21. fetid
    offensively malodorous
    Brown walls. Lace curtains at the window, stained yellow from cigarette smoke. A fetid smell.
  22. chenille
    a heavy fabric woven from soft tufted cord
    He got Matty out of his coat and shoes and sat him on the bed and pulled the cheap chenille bedspread around his shoulders.
  23. resolute
    firm in purpose or belief
    She hesitated. But she looked resolute. As if she were going to say yes.
  24. tendril
    something long, light, slender, and often curling
    Her hair lit up in the twilight with tendrils of black walnut, of gold.
  25. somberly
    in a serious and solemn manner
    Somberly, she watched him.
  26. furtive
    secret and sly
    Her eyes flashed with something then. What? Whatever it was disappeared in an instant. A quick luster in the dimness. Water in the dark catching sudden furtive light.
  27. gloaming
    the time of day immediately following sunset
    The gloaming light. The wail and hiss of wind at the motel door.
  28. perilous
    fraught with danger
    He felt a perilous need to speak, to tell her everything, but to say these secrets was a terrible thing.
  29. inarticulate
    without or deprived of the use of speech or words
    For a moment, he became inarticulate in his effort to express himself.
  30. aversion
    a feeling of intense dislike
    He searched her face in the twilight for some sign of aversion or disgust, but there was none.
  31. rapture
    a state of elated bliss
    If he could lean toward her, in a gentle way, and kiss her. The thought rolled through him like rapture.
  32. stature
    the height of a standing person
    Ava stood, her stature determined.
  33. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    When she managed to speak, her voice sounded odd. As if some taut string had reached its limit and torn free of her body.
  34. burgeon
    grow and flourish
    All the danger he was willing to risk. For Matty. And now for Ava. Her face in the burgeoning dark.
  35. stifle
    smother or suppress
    She stifles a shudder. Jack does not know the danger, doesn’t understand.
  36. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    He is almost obscured in the gloom.
  37. unrelenting
    not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
    His eyes are unrelenting. Ava can almost hear the gears of stubbornness whirring inside the machinery of his brain.
  38. subside
    wear off or die down
    As she looks at him, the dread subsides. Something about Jack is comforting.
  39. skew
    turn or place at an angle
    Outside the window, vague shapes move. Shadows of snow falling. Skewing down in the wind.
  40. insulate
    surround with material to protect from heat, cold, or noise
    There was a heavy-duty aluminum dry box with a watertight shell in the trunk of the Land Rover. It was altered to fit his needs, insulated to hold in warmth, with little holes drilled into the lid.
Created on Thu Jun 13 09:45:31 EDT 2024 (updated Fri Jun 14 11:49:24 EDT 2024)

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