Ungifted: Unreal–Unlittered

by Gordon Korman
An administrative mistake lands troublemaker Donovan Kurtis at the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a prestigious school for gifted students.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Unearthed–Unrepaired, Unsurprised–Unforgivable, Unreal–Unlittered

Here is a link to our lists for Schooled by Gordon Korman.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. fiasco
    a complete failure or collapse
    I still hadn’t worked up the nerve to tell Brad—even though the whole fiasco was his mother’s fault, not mine.
  2. analytical
    using or skilled in using reasoning
    But to be stared at by these geniuses with their Coke-bottle glasses and analytical frowns
  3. dissect
    cut open or cut apart
    it was like being dissected and having your vital organs spread out on slides.
  4. minimalist
    of or relating to extreme simplification of form and color
    He’s the jerk who lodged a complaint that our uniforms were too “minimalist.”
  5. hallucinate
    have illusions; perceive what is not actually there
    As reality checks go, this one had me pinching myself to see if I was hallucinating.
  6. thunderstruck
    as if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise
    I was thunderstruck, staring at my idiot brother with a new respect.
  7. irate
    feeling or showing extreme anger
    Irate parents; frantic phone calls; summer plans changed; complaints to the school board and maybe even the state.
  8. squander
    spend thoughtlessly; throw away
    And if one of our best and brightest had decided to squander his placement, he should step aside in favor of someone who wouldn’t waste the opportunity.
  9. familial
    occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
    “A machine is not a living entity, and has no familial line.”
  10. contender
    the contestant you hope to defeat
    I’d never been much of a joiner, so this was my first taste of how it felt to be part of a team that was a real contender.
  11. ossify
    become bony
    The worst part wasn’t the polishing; it was chipping off years of bird droppings that had ossified by a chemical process I’ll bet even Noah Youkilis couldn’t explain.
  12. stoutly
    in a resolute manner
    “If they boot my brother, they boot me too,” she said stoutly.
  13. yearn
    have a desire for something or someone who is not present
    I doubt James Donovan ever stood on the deck of the Carpathia and yearned to return to the icy water, but I couldn’t stop itching for a rewind button to whoosh me back to the Academy.
  14. pacifist
    someone opposed to violence as a means of settling disputes
    I didn’t know for sure, but she struck me as a pacifist.
  15. truancy
    failure to attend, especially school
    To commit my first act of truancy in a spotless school career only to miss Donovan would be too much to bear.
  16. eyewitness
    a spectator who can describe what happened
    “We were eyewitnesses,” added the other one.
  17. indignant
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    Taller Daniel was indignant.
  18. sufficient
    of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement
    And then, as if I hadn’t sufficiently humiliated myself, I began to sob like a heartbroken child.
  19. meticulously
    in a manner marked by extreme care of details
    The shorter Daniel took something out of his pocket and began unfolding it meticulously.
  20. deliberately
    with intention; in an intentional manner
    That was what I had to do, only it was more like I was saying that I deliberately picked up the iceberg and sliced open the boat with it.
  21. arrogance
    overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner
    Cold Spring Harbor were the defending champions, and the kids wore their arrogance like a uniform.
  22. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    They traveled with a large group, and two or three of them were big sullen boys who didn’t seem to have much to do with their robot.
  23. maneuver
    a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity
    But there was a nimbleness to his driving, an economy to the robot’s maneuvers.
  24. diagnostic
    concerned with identifying the nature or cause of something
    Noah ran a software diagnostic
  25. agonize
    suffer anguish
    Latrell and Kevin agonized over each physical connection and bearing.
  26. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    We had to coax every microgram of performance out of Tin Man to keep our hopes alive.
  27. impulsive
    characterized by undue haste and lack of thought
    The impulsive act was over
  28. consequence
    the outcome of an event
    but the consequences had not yet descended on my head.
  29. congregate
    come together, usually for a purpose
    The rest of us congregated in the waiting room to—well—wait.
  30. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    That’s assuming the judges noticed.
  31. unprovoked
    occurring without motivation or incitement
    If they didn’t, they’ll see the attack as unprovoked.
  32. mayhem
    violent and needless disturbance
    The mayhem that had ended the robotics meet would have freaked us out a few weeks ago.
  33. immaculate
    completely neat and clean
    The superintendent’s hair was wild, his tie undone, his normally immaculate suit rumpled.
  34. extrapolate
    draw from specific cases for more general cases
    Just the thought that when I calculate, interpolate, extrapolate, infer, deduce, adjudge, analyze, derive, figure, reason, or surmise something, there’s a chance that I might not be right filled me with a sense of infinite possibility.
  35. berserk
    frenzied as if possessed by a demon
    Soon the riot would belong to Tin Man alone, and all that remained would be the question, What made the robot go berserk like that?
Created on Thu Jul 07 11:43:27 EDT 2016 (updated Mon Sep 24 13:27:13 EDT 2018)

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