Mid-Air: List 4

by Alicia D. Williams
In this novel in verse, Isaiah learns who he is as he grieves the death of one friend and tries to keep his relationship with another alive.

This list covers vocabulary from "Something Else Too"–"Where Did They Come From?"

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6
25 words 17 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dart
    move with sudden speed
    A flicker in his eyes. His sight darts to the spot.
  2. syllable
    a unit of spoken language larger than a phoneme
    Her mouth moves but her syllables are blocked
    by the pounding in my ears.
  3. fret
    worry unnecessarily or excessively
    Mom frets about me
    So how can I tell her as
    she waits for an answer while
    rubbing ointment over open wounds while
    more questions build on her tongue as
    she worries about lasting scars?
  4. mission
    an ambition or aim that guides a person's or group's actions
    I tell him, No, then switch the subject to our new mission.
  5. immerse
    devote fully to
    Drew finds me in the library.
    Immersed in the Spider-Verse.
  6. bolt
    leave suddenly and as if in a hurry
    Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I say,
    and bolt before she gets to asking more.
  7. trample
    injure by stomping heavily
    The men wake me from my sleep
    drag me from bed by my feet
    trample my spine
    my screams stay trapped
    in my throat
    I curl up
    panting like a dog
    whimpering,
    I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine.
  8. tribute
    something given or done as an expression of esteem
    Hand ready to steady the phone
    so he can post a tribute online.
  9. barge
    push one's way
    And that day — that day barges in. Bullies me.
  10. infinity
    time without end
    Always means forever.
    Forever and ever.
    Eternity. Infinity.
  11. pier
    a platform built out from the shore into the water
    But I can’t move. It’s like my feet,
    my feet are stuck in a barrel of cement and
    I’m tipping, tipping off a pier to the sea below.
  12. stammer
    speak haltingly
    Wait, I didn’t… I — I stammer —
    Yo, get out of my face, Isaiah. Better get the hell on.
  13. foul
    highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
    I tell him I said something foul to Drew.
  14. terrarium
    transparent container in which plants and animals are kept
    Then this vacation will do you good. She cocks her head,
    deciding which plants to add to the terrarium.
  15. crabby
    annoyed and irritable
    Okay yeah, before Dad started at National Geo, he was
    kinda quiet at times. Kinda crabby too.
  16. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    They waft from pans, jars, containers, cabinets.
  17. chuckle
    laugh quietly or with restraint
    Uncle Vent chuckles.
  18. hoe
    a tool with a flat blade attached to a long handle
    She hands me a hoe. Ready to get dirty?
  19. communicate
    interchange information or ideas
    Uncle Vent: Just ’cause he don’t say much don’t mean he can’t
    communicate.
  20. enunciate
    speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way
    Grady: Naw, I ain’t. Wanna. Go. Walking?
    — Grady enunciates each word slow and loud. —
    Uncle Vent: Grady, he ain’t deaf. Just talk normal, man.
  21. spigot
    a regulator for controlling the flow of a liquid
    Grady’s mouth spouts like a spigot.
  22. hike
    walk a long way, as for pleasure or physical exercise
    We hike up roads, some paved, some gravel, to houses
    where people sit on porches, fanning themselves.
  23. mime
    an actor who communicates entirely by gesture
    Your uncle was right, says Grady. You do talk. With yo’ eyes
    and eyebrows. Hey, you can be a mime. He brings a cupped
    hand to his mouth and slurps. Get it? Drink. Try it.
  24. prune
    cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of
    Aunt Terri tells them to show me how to prune okra.
  25. scrunch
    wrinkle, crease, or crumple a smooth surface
    All right? repeats BJ. Yeah, if they’re fried. But if they’re slimy —
    he scrunches his face like okra’s in his mouth — yuck.
Created on Thu May 15 07:19:45 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 10 13:11:57 EDT 2025)

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