Show Me a Sign: Chapters 20–27

by Ann Clare LeZotte
Inspired by historical events, this novel explores tensions between a 19th-century community of deaf islanders and an ambitious scientist.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 6, Chapters 7–12, Chapters 13–19, Chapters 20–27, Chapters 28–37
40 words 13 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. scorn
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    He tilts his head back in scorn and pours half the bucket on the floor.
  2. shanty
    a rhythmical work song originally sung by sailors
    A sea shanty Ezra Brewer taught me comes to mind.
  3. bearing
    a person's manner or way of conducting himself or herself
    I struggle to keep my wits, let alone retain the bearing of a young lady.
  4. pallet
    a portable platform for storing or moving goods
    I observe men loading heavy pallets with barrels and sacks, straining to lift them with ropes and pulleys onto the dock.
  5. raucous
    disturbing the public peace; loud and rough
    They make fast business taking the sails down and unloading their various goods before they disappear in raucous groups into the city.
  6. masquerade
    making a false outward show
    In a masquerade of chivalry, he takes my hand and helps me onto the dock.
  7. repugnant
    offensive to the mind
    Andrew seems to find them repugnant.
  8. burly
    muscular and heavily built
    One of them, burly with a bald head, tosses coin money in the air and catches it.
  9. garish
    tastelessly showy
    They are dressed garishly, with too much face paint.
  10. rheumy
    watery and red, as of the eyes
    A short, stocky woman opens the door, her face round with rheumy blue eyes and lemon-colored hair.
  11. dotage
    mental infirmity as a consequence of old age
    Grandmother Harmony, who became hard of hearing in her dotage, was able to read words on people’s lips.
  12. permeate
    spread or diffuse through
    The smells from boiled beef and cabbage permeate my clothing and hair.
  13. mitigate
    lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
    The rolls she bakes daily mitigate the smell.
  14. correspondent
    someone who communicates by means of letters
    Was I brought as a live specimen for his correspondent?
  15. genial
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
    At first, Andrew doesn’t notice that Mr. Squints is genial toward me.
  16. nary
    colloquial for 'not a' or 'not one' or 'never a'
    And Mrs. Muffins keeps me so busy with chores, I have nary a moment to myself to try to figure out how to communicate with him.
  17. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    I feel a low din. When I look up, I see Andrew laughing. He has two tin plates in his hands. I guess he banged them together to mock my deafness.
  18. destitute
    poor enough to need help from others
    I pick it up and read Proverbs 31:8–9: “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
  19. pantomime
    a performance using gestures and movements without words
    Could I explain my predicament in pantomime to one of the sailors or a lady or a gentleman?
  20. cupola
    a roof or part of a roof in the form of a dome
    I look for the weather vane that Ezra Brewer once described to me, a golden grasshopper that sits on a large cupola.
  21. stately
    refined or imposing in manner or appearance
    Before I can resist, the older gentleman sweeps me out the door and into a stately carriage.
  22. foreboding
    ominously prophetic
    Though the carriage is majestic, with velvet interior and cushions, I fear the livery driver is taking us to some dark and foreboding place.
  23. dilapidated
    in a state of decay, ruin, or deterioration
    Does Professor Hawk not observe my dilapidated condition, my terror?
  24. transgression
    the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle
    Do I risk defying Andrew so soon after my last transgression?
  25. futile
    unproductive of success
    George sometimes made futile attempts to explain them to me.
  26. poultice
    a medical dressing spread on a cloth and applied to the skin
    Mama uses home remedies when we are sick. Teas and poultices made from hazelnut and sassafras bark.
  27. shrewd
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
    She looks to be about Andrew’s age with a sharp face and shrewd eyes under a twist of fiery hair.
  28. bodice
    part of a dress above the waist
    She takes hold of my gown, loosening the ties on the bodice and then yanking down the skirt.
  29. duvet
    a soft quilt usually filled with down
    I sit with my legs tucked under me on the duvet and brush out my hair.
  30. cherubic
    having a sweet nature befitting an angel
    A cameo! I’ve rarely seen anything so elegant in my life. One side is ivory, painted with the cherubic likeness of a girl only a little younger than I am.
  31. cameo
    engraving or carving in low relief on a stone
    I replace the cameo in the drawer.
  32. pompous
    puffed up with vanity
    I imagine he is pompously interjecting his observations.
  33. fitful
    intermittently stopping and starting
    With these thoughts and feelings worrying my mind, I fall into a fitful sleep.
  34. ruefully
    in a manner expressing pain or sorrow
    She smiles ruefully and shakes her head.
  35. repertoire
    the range of skills in a particular field or occupation
    This time she stays and prompts me to sign by repeating the words she’s memorized and then pointing at me. I attempt to expand her repertoire, to make her see the gravity of my situation.
  36. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    Do I dare cross the threshold?
  37. bulrush
    tall marsh plant with cylindrical seed heads
    I pray, “My Lord, open the door so I can flee and be brought to safety, like Moses in the bulrushes.”
  38. hovel
    small crude shelter used as a dwelling
    I was careful to fish in the next town over and barely took a bite when I was invited for dinner in one of their island hovels.
  39. congenital
    present at birth but not necessarily hereditary
    He told me that the deaf and dumb of Martha's Vineyard are congenital idiots, unintelligent and unlearned.
  40. comprehensive
    including all or everything
    Yet, he just showed me a comprehensive genealogy created by a deaf and dumb seaman.
Created on Mon Apr 19 17:36:47 EDT 2021 (updated Wed Apr 21 08:40:13 EDT 2021)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.