We Are the Ants: List 3

by Shaun David Hutchinson
Is the world worth saving? That's the question Henry Denton must answer when aliens give him the power to save—or destroy—the planet. Learn these words from the novel by Shaun David Hutchinson.

This list covers 10 Nov 2015 – 30 Nov 2015.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, LIst 3, List 4, List 5
35 words 27 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. trajectory
    the path followed by an object moving through space
    Scientists even theorize that if you could take the position, speed, trajectory, and mass of every object in the universe and feed it into a supercomputer, you could predict the future of everything.
  2. clique
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    I still haven’t figured out why he’s wasting his time on me when he could easily fit in with any clique he wanted.
  3. deterrent
    something immaterial that interferes with action or progress
    He locks the gate the rest of the time, but it’s hardly a deterrent, since all you have to do is hop the curb and drive around it.
  4. crestfallen
    brought low in spirit
    “I guess we should go to class.” I tried to sound crestfallen as I grabbed my bag and got out of the car.
  5. predatory
    living by or given to victimizing others for personal gain
    I swore I could hear the predatory whirr of Marten's golf cart approaching.
  6. fidget
    move restlessly
    Audrey fidgeted with her keys. She kept looking behind her, her eyes wide and dodgy. “Listen, I’ll give you a ride off campus if you want, but we should hurry.”
  7. paranoid
    suffering from delusions of persecution or grandeur
    I wasn’t paranoid. I could definitely hear the golf cart’s motor. I’d earned some sympathy because of the attack, but I doubt I’d be able to weasel out of a detention if Marten caught me trying to skip.
  8. retrospect
    contemplation of things past
    I thought Jesse was happy, though in retrospect, the signs were there that he was going to fall apart.
  9. deadpan
    deliberately impassive in manner
    Diego’s deadpan delivery was so good that I didn’t know whether he was telling the truth, and I busted up laughing at the image of grumpy cats in ugly sweaters.
  10. smother
    conceal or hide
    “I bet he drinks heavily to smother the shame of what his life has become, and dies of liver failure by forty-three,” I said.
  11. perky
    characterized by liveliness and lightheartedness
    Diego was talking to a short girl, perky with pink glasses and a blue stripe in her blond hair.
  12. gravitas
    formality, dignity, or seriousness
    “I’ll give you that Tennant brought a gravitas to the Doctor that grounded the insanity of the ludicrous situations he got himself into, but Matt Smith didn’t play the Doctor, he was the Doctor.”
  13. humiliation
    an instance causing you to lose prestige or self-respect
    He was rich and popular, which insulated him from the effects of most humiliation.
  14. stanch
    stop the flow of a liquid
    Zac’s nose was gushing blood, and Mr. Baker was trying to stanch the flow with a handful of napkins.
  15. plausible
    apparently reasonable, valid, or truthful
    It’s not that she doesn’t believe in the possibility of aliens or other life in the universe; she simply doesn’t think it’s plausible that beings from another planet would travel hundreds or thousands of light-years to abduct cows and teenage boys.
  16. obliterate
    do away with completely, without leaving a trace
    If I save us, who’s to say another disaster won’t come along and obliterate us anyway?
  17. facade
    a showy misrepresentation to conceal something unpleasant
    Most people hadn’t seen Marcus the way I had. They’d never seen beyond the facade. Even I’d only glimpsed a little of who he truly was, but I worried that, the longer he wore it, the easier it would be to forget that the mask wasn’t the truth.
  18. raspy
    unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound
    I stood quietly and listened to her sing along with “You Can’t Hurry Love” in her raspy but beautiful voice.
  19. lethargy
    inactivity; showing an unusual lack of energy
    Dulled by wine and lethargy, my reflexes were sluggish, but I scrambled off the couch and stumbled into the kitchen.
  20. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    When he saw the blackened turkey smoldering in the oven, he grabbed two dish towels and hauled the bird into the backyard, where he unceremoniously lobbed it into the canal.
  21. profusely
    in very large amounts or quantities; extremely
    The muscles on the sides of Charlie’s throat bulged, and he was sweating profusely.
  22. tacky
    tastelessly showy
    Diego arrived to pick me up wearing a tacky Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts, and didn’t look embarrassed by either.
  23. meticulously
    in a manner marked by extreme care of details
    The shutters were white with pineapple cutouts in the center, and the front yard was meticulously manicured.
  24. devious
    characterized by insincerity or deceit
    She was tall and curvy, with a devious gleam in her eyes.
  25. disarming
    capable of allaying hostility
    I wanted to know what secrets Diego was hiding under his ever-changing wardrobe and disarming smile, but I didn’t know how to ask.
  26. preposterous
    inviting ridicule
    She glanced at Diego as he served himself a preposterous helping of ribs.
  27. lobotomy
    surgery on nerves to and from the frontal lobe of the brain
    I wanted to shove an ice pick through my eyes and give myself a trans-orbital lobotomy, scrape Diego from the inside of my skull.
  28. frenzy
    state of violent mental agitation
    They teetered on the edge of losing control, and I imagined him painting with the same kind of frenzy—stripped to the waist and covered in smears of more colors than the human eye was capable of detecting.
  29. coexist
    live together peacefully, as of nations
    I leaned my forehead against Diego’s, and all I could think about was kissing him again, and Jesse. Two thoughts that couldn't coexist.
  30. orifice
    an opening, especially one that opens into a bodily cavity
    Not even ten minutes brushing my teeth had been enough to scrub the sticky film from my mouth, and if I took any more aspirin, I’d probably start leaking blood from every orifice.
  31. tenacious
    stubbornly unyielding
    I hoped if I were vague, she’d drop it, but Audrey was tenacious.
  32. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    Jesse used to say I was oblivious to the world around me.
  33. rickety
    inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
    Instead of going straight home, I took a detour to the beach and sat on the rickety staircase to watch the tide go out.
  34. infallible
    incapable of failure or error
    I’d never labored under the false notion that my mom was infallible. I knew that my mom was a human being, frail and confused, but I’d always thought she was just a little less confused than everyone else. She wasn’t, though, and that’s the moment I knew it.
  35. frailty
    moral weakness
    But in the end, it wasn’t her belief that kept me from telling her the truth. It wasn’t her frailty. It was the certainty that we’d all be dead in sixty days.
Created on Thu Jul 27 19:29:29 EDT 2017 (updated Fri Sep 13 13:57:09 EDT 2019)

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