Everything We Never Had: List 1

by Randy Ribay
This novel follows four generations of fathers and sons from the Filipino American Maghabol family as they struggle to survive and understand each other.

This list covers vocabulary from "The Fog"–"Aligning Planets."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6, List 7, List 8, List 9.

25 words 194 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    Faded hat, worn gloves, threadbare clothes.
  2. flush
    having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
    And it had seemed to be true from the faded and folded pictures sent home and passed around the villages from the returning pensionados flush with cash and American goods.
  3. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    Silent and sullen, the men ascend into the branches.
  4. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    The eldest son venturing into the unknown to do what he must to take care of his nanang and sister and brothers after his tatang lost their land and left them for the woman with the mole on her right earlobe.
  5. absolve
    excuse or free from blame
    Maybe more so a ghost, since duty dissolves as it absolves.
  6. hail
    be a native of
    They found each other in the crowded, swaying dimness of the third-class hold after hearing home in each other’s voices and discovering they hailed from neighboring villages in Ilocos Sur.
  7. germinate
    come into being and develop
    The question has begun to germinate in his soul.
  8. justify
    show to be right by providing proof
    Could this ever be enough to quiet the regret, to justify an ocean crossing, to anchor him to the earth?
  9. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    Enzo looks up, skeptical.
  10. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    And then there is Enzo with his, lumpy and loose, the top folds sure to unfurl like little capes when they’re frying in the hot oil later.
  11. somber
    serious and gloomy in character
    A joke to distract himself from the tightness that pinches his chest at his dad’s suddenly somber tone.
  12. scoff
    treat with contemptuous disregard
    Who scoffs at Enzo’s anxiety diagnosis, insisting he has nothing to complain about.
  13. remittance
    a payment of money sent to a person in another place
    For those who left, it is remittances.
  14. burdensome
    not easily borne or endured; causing hardship
    It is burdensome.
  15. articulate
    put into words or an expression
    Nobody had ever asked him to articulate the sensation.
  16. erratic
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    At any given moment, a thousand buzzing worries were weaving erratic paths around him.
  17. process
    arrange and integrate in the mind
    Everyone needs to learn to notice, process, and understand their emotions in a healthy way so they can heal.
  18. emerge
    come out into view, as from concealment
    Sure enough, every now and then, a worry would emerge from the hive, white-hot, vibrating a hundred times more intensely than the others, flying in to fuck shit up.
  19. endure
    face and withstand with courage
    Enzo just had to accept it, talk through it with Dr. Mendoza, endure the ways it rattled his life, and wait for it to pass.
  20. knowingly
    with full understanding or intention
    Dr. Mendoza nods knowingly and waits for Enzo to say more.
  21. stoop
    small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house
    Enzo and Julia sit side by side at the top of their West Philly stoop as the sun rises over the skyline.
  22. peer
    look searchingly
    Their next-door neighbor Ms. Li comes out, nods to them, and peers at the sky as if scanning for rain before ducking back inside her house.
  23. loll
    hang loosely or laxly
    Enzo kneels and the dog rushes over, tongue lolling out to one side as he leans against Enzo’s legs.
  24. retort
    a quick reply to a question or remark
    And with that clever retort, Chris disappears into the house.
  25. falter
    be or become weak, unsteady, or uncertain
    Julia’s smile falters.
Created on Tue Mar 18 08:40:54 EDT 2025 (updated Mon Mar 31 17:15:46 EDT 2025)

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