"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 22

Philip Geer's "Simon's Saga" includes 820 SAT-level words and gives students an entertaining glimpse into college life.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, Episode 19, Episode 20, Episode 21, Episode 22, Episode 23, Episode 24, Episode 25, Episode 26, Episode 27, Episode 28, Episode 29, Episode 30, Episode 31, Episode 32, Episode 33, Episode 34, Episode 35, Episode 36, Episode 37
20 words 528 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. serene
    completely clear and calm
    “What a beautiful voice! So serene and ethereal.”
  2. ethereal
    of heaven or the spirit
    “What a beautiful voice! So serene and ethereal.”
  3. evocative
    serving to bring to mind
    There’s something about that tune. It’s so evocative.
  4. elusive
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    You know, I think I’ve heard it, but it’s elusive. I reach for it, then it’s gone.
  5. abstruse
    difficult to understand
    “Sounds like me trying to remember some abstruse mathematical theorem.”
  6. construe
    make sense of; assign a meaning to
    And everybody gets something different out of it—something that sort of speaks right to the heart. Everyone construes the words differently.
  7. ballad
    a narrative poem of popular origin
    Well, they’re not really ballads. There’s no narrative really.
  8. lyrical
    expressing deep emotion
    They’re just so lyrical, they make you feel the most amazing things.
  9. nebulous
    lacking definition or definite content
    But, you know, come to think of it, I can’t really remember very many specifics. It’s kind of nebulous.
  10. infer
    conclude by reasoning
    “Simon, I thought you said Axel was”—she smiled—“a ‘100 percent cognitive dude’. If that’s true, then why ...?” She let him infer what the rest of her question was.
  11. ruminate
    reflect deeply on a subject
    Simon looked at the ground, ruminating, listening to another tune coming out of Axel’s room into the night.
  12. paradoxical
    seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true
    It’s kind of paradoxical. He’s a complex guy.
  13. doleful
    filled with or evoking sadness
    It’s kind of doleful, and yet at the same time it suggests that there is some sort of ultimate meaning to life, that there are eternal verities in the universe.
  14. verity
    an enduring or necessary ethical or aesthetic truth
    It’s kind of doleful, and yet at the same time it suggests that there is some sort of ultimate meaning to life, that there are eternal verities in the universe.
  15. dulcet
    pleasing to the ear
    And it’s the most dulcet, soothing music I have ever heard. It is just so beautiful.
  16. tremulous
    quivering as from weakness or fear
    His voice was tremulous.
  17. melancholy
    characterized by or causing or expressing sadness
    Less melancholy.
  18. mesmerize
    induce hypnosis in
    “Yes, I’m from Orion. And I’m on a mission to abduct you. Let me mesmerize you first,” she said.
  19. stipulate
    make an express demand or provision in an agreement
    “Hey, what law stipulates that aliens can’t be sublimely beautiful?”
  20. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    “It would be a great ruse, you know.”
Created on Mon Aug 18 21:41:56 EDT 2014 (updated Tue Aug 19 15:51:18 EDT 2014)

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