In the Time of the Butterflies: Part 3

by Julia Alvarez
Based on the historical Mirabal sisters, this is a fictionalized account of why and how they decide to fight dictator Rafael Trujillo's oppressive regime in the Dominican Republic.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Epilogue
15 words 660 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. docile
    willing to be taught or led or supervised or directed
    She had always been the docile middle child, used to following the lead.
  2. intermittent
    stopping and starting at irregular intervals
    From puppydog devotion, he had moved on to a moody bossiness complicated with intermittent periods of dogged remorse...
  3. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    And here she’d always berated him for his failures in business when the greater bankruptcy had been on her part.
  4. rendezvous
    a meeting planned at a certain time and place
    She told herself that she was going to be late for her rendezvous.
  5. inflammatory
    inciting action or rebellion
    They scoured the property, dug up the fields, and found the buried boxes full of their incriminating cargo as well as an old box of papers. Inflammatory materials, they called it.
  6. conflagration
    a very intense and uncontrolled fire
    Then they set fire to what was left.
    And Nelson and Pedrito, seeing the conflagration and fearing for Patria and the children, came running down from the hills, their hands over their heads, giving themselves up.
  7. pittance
    an inadequate payment
    Capitán Victor Alicinio Peña was listed in the real estate transactions as having bought the old González farm from the government for a pittance. “He stole it is what he did,” I blurted out.
  8. inflection
    the modification of pitch, tone, or volume when speaking
    I don’t know if I was praying as much as listening intently — trying to judge the success of my petition from every pause and inflection in Peña’s voice.
  9. allegation
    a formal accusation against somebody
    The priests were only stirring up trouble. Their allegations against the government were lies. After all, our dictator was running a free country.
  10. interminable
    tiresomely long; seemingly without end
    All the way down that interminable hall, Noris held tight to my hand.
  11. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    Minerva and El Rayo cooked up this idea that everyone without exception was to wear a crucifix as a symbol of our solidarity.
  12. rhetoric
    using language effectively to please or persuade
    What I needed was a shot of Fidel’s fiery rhetoric.
  13. reinstate
    bring back into original existence, function, or position
    It was the end of September before visiting days were reinstated at La Victoria, and we got to see the men.
  14. atrophy
    undergo weakening or degeneration as through lack of use
    “The cells in your systems have atrophied and are dead,” she said sharply.
  15. imperious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    Mamá murmured her good days, but Dedé gave the chauffeur the imperious look of a mistress whose servant has disobeyed her wishes.
Created on Wed Nov 27 04:03:01 EST 2013 (updated Thu Jul 31 15:25:22 EDT 2025)

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