Black Girl You Are Atlas: List 3

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 "‌Underbelly‌"–"‌‌Hiraeth."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
20 words 14 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. hardship
    something difficult to endure
    How much more hardship
    can my mother take before she breaks?
  2. roam
    move about aimlessly or without any destination
    Hours roaming a museum
  3. quilt
    bedding made of layers stuffed and stitched together
    Snuggling in a handmade quilt
  4. tangible
    perceptible by the senses, especially the sense of touch
    Learn how to make jerk chicken, how to make spicy food flavorful and not just hot, hot, hot,
    learn how cooking makes you closer to your ancestors, makes their presence
    tangible long after they are gone.
  5. overshadow
    be or appear greater in importance or achievement than
    Seventeen is about never
    admitting that even though my dreams are big, big, big, they do not
    overshadow my fears of missing home and family and friends.
  6. fragile
    vulnerably delicate
    Know this, even when you
    don’t feel this: Your heart is as strong as it is fragile.
  7. shatter
    break into many pieces
    It will shatter a thousand
    and one times but always it can heal, if you let it.
  8. injustice
    the practice of being unfair
    Be an enemy only to injustice, to
    hate.
  9. hype
    blatant or sensational promotion
    Be your own hype crew.
  10. stunt
    check the growth or development of
    Staying too long stunts growth,
    fosters bitterness, regret.
  11. flaunt
    display proudly
    Flaunt it in the face of your fears.
  12. endure
    face and withstand with courage
    This is how you mend,
    how you endure,
    how you hold on to joy
    while you wait for happiness.
  13. sliver
    (figurative) a small or narrow piece or slice
    A sliver of your light is more than enough.
  14. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
    Don’t let the metaphors and platitudes fool you.
  15. silver lining
    a positive aspect of a difficult situation
    Sometimes it is not about the flowers that are coming,
    the silver lining, the promised rainbow.
  16. haven
    a shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary
    Sometimes you have to wait it out,
    find a safe space, protection,
    a haven, a refuge,
    places to comfort and warm you.
  17. nurture
    help develop; help grow
    I was nurtured in the womb of an oak tree.
  18. saturate
    infuse or fill completely
    Want patois on tongue, drum in hips, coconut oil saturating hair.
  19. yearning
    prolonged unfulfilled desire or need
    It speaks to the longing for home—not in a simplified homesick way but a deep yearning for the
    place where your roots are.
  20. nostalgia
    a longing for something past
    It’s a mixture of nostalgia, grief, and wistfulness for
    the place of your past.
Created on Tue Apr 15 07:17:41 EDT 2025 (updated Thu Apr 24 11:38:57 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.