Black Girl You Are Atlas: List 2

by Renée Watson
In this poetry collection, author Renée Watson explores Black culture and girlhood as the narrator grows up from age 7 to age 17.

This list covers vocabulary from "‌Love Shows Up‌"–"‌Turning Thirteen‌."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
20 words 17 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. leftovers
    food remaining from a previous meal
    When your grandma saves leftovers and puts your initials
    on the takeout container so no one eats your food.
  2. baptize
    administer a sacrament signifying spiritual rebirth
    She baptizes my hair,
    washing its sin down the drain of her basin.
  3. anoint
    administer an oil or ointment to, often ceremonially
    Her pressing comb rests on a towel by the stove,
    a dollop of Blue Magic hair grease on the top of her hand
    ready to oil scalp, anoint it.
  4. repentance
    remorse for your past conduct
    Each strand of hair surrenders its will,
    falls to my shoulders in repentance.
  5. assimilation
    the process of absorbing one cultural group into another
    My sinner hair won’t obey assimilation,
    won’t convert, no longer obedient
    to Ms. Tiny’s ole-time religion.
  6. Underground Railroad
    secret aid to help people escape slavery in the U.S.
    Each pathway a map to the underground railroad.
  7. testimony
    something that serves as evidence
    Every handful a testimony.
  8. sculpt
    create by shaping stone or wood or other material
    Sculpt it into a crown.
  9. attendant
    someone who waits on or takes care of the needs of another
    Mom and Aunt Mary tell the attendants, and the conductor makes an announcement over the intercom.
  10. deed
    a legal document to effect a transfer of property
    Signing
    papers, arguing words I do not know, have never heard: House deed. Sale.
    Mortgage.
  11. belated
    after the expected or usual time
    When we get back to Portland, my mother throws me a belated birthday party.
  12. casket
    box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
    My aunt kisses his face in the casket.
  13. disappoint
    fail to meet the hopes or expectations of
    I will always remember this birthday as the one where I met my dad and lost my
    uncle and learned that men are good at disappointing and disappearing.
  14. confidant
    someone to whom private matters are told
    Wish for wisdom to accompany knowledge,
    for grace to be a confidant,
    for renewal to be constant.
  15. resource
    aid or support that may be drawn upon when needed
    Wish for time well spent, for time to be respected
    as the limited resource it is.
  16. vow
    promise
    When they tell you
    the sky is the limit, vow to go past that.
  17. naysayer
    someone with an aggressively negative attitude
    Build a new world
    somewhere above the horizon
    above your past, above your fears
    far away from the naysayers,
    somewhere there there
    reach your zenith

    and never come down.
  18. comeback
    a quick reply to a question or remark
    I mean I love, love our bounce back
    our clap back,
    our backbone,
    our backstory,
    our comeback.
  19. resistance
    group action in opposition to those in power
    I mean I love our resistance,
    love our resilience.
  20. validate
    show or confirm the effectiveness or worthiness of something
    Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson
    validate my crush on the cute Black boy
    who makes honor roll and blows me a kiss
    when he walks onto the stage to get his certificate.
Created on Tue Apr 15 07:17:24 EDT 2025 (updated Thu Apr 24 11:32:39 EDT 2025)

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.