The Diviners: List 3

by Libba Bray
In this first book of the series, seventeen-year-old Evangeline O’Neill is enjoying life in 1920s New York City, until her museum curator uncle is called in to consult on a murder and she realizes that her ability to read objects could be helpful.

This list covers "A Late-Summer Evening"–"City of Dreams."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 12 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. brook
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    “Anoint thy flesh and prepare ye the walls of your houses. The Lord will brook no weakness in his chosen.”
  2. wanton
    indulgent in immoral or improper behavior
    “Hot off the presses, today’s headlines: The love of your life does not approve of my wanton flapper ways,” Evie said in a voice of affected mystery.
  3. spiel
    artful or slick talk used to persuade
    Evie led the man from room to room, explaining the various objects, giving the historical spiel she’d heard from Will numerous times and adding a few of her own flourishes.
  4. wayward
    resistant to guidance or discipline
    T. S. Woodhouse reminded Evie of an overgrown, wayward schoolboy.
  5. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    He was tall and skinny, full of a palpable coiled energy; his face was sharp-planed but freckled, and beneath his mop of unruly brown hair and straight brows, his narrow blue eyes seemed to be constantly observing, recording.
  6. aspersion
    an abusive attack on a person's character or good name
    “‘I am the Beast, the Dragon of Old,’” Sister Walker repeated. “That’s from Revelation, if I recall my Sunday school. I don’t like to cast aspersions, but might it be Octavia?” she offered kindly.
  7. bucolic
    idyllically rustic
    The Pillar of Fire Church was situated on eighty bucolic acres of former farmland in Zarephath, New Jersey.
  8. rangy
    tall and thin and having long slender limbs
    A tall, rangy man stood uncertainly in the doorway.
  9. sordid
    morally degraded
    “I think you’d best leave. We are an honorable organization and want no part of your sordid city affairs.”
  10. convivial
    occupied with or fond of the pleasures of good company
    He smiled at him in a convivial way, as if they were two old friends on a fishing trip, one giving advice to the other.
  11. moniker
    a familiar name for a person
    “...Clever moniker.”
    “Daily Newsenhauser? I thought so.”
  12. comely
    very pleasing to the eye
    “A story about the museum in tomorrow’s papers. A mention of one Miss Evie O’Neill. The very comely Miss O’Neill.”
  13. countenance
    the appearance conveyed by a person's face
    Evie and Will crossed the long green of Columbia, heading toward the Low Memorial Library, an enormous marble building whose ionic columns gave it the countenance of a Greek temple.
  14. blustery
    blowing in violent and abrupt bursts
    The day was blustery, but students still sat on the library steps leading up from the green.
  15. eschatology
    the branch of theology that is concerned with final things
    “Eschatology,” Dr. Poblocki continued, “from the Greek eschatos, meaning ‘the last,’ is about the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Ah, but here is where things become quite interesting!”
  16. veneration
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    “It’s a template for the murders.” She continued. “The eighth offering, the Veneration of the Angelic Herald. The ninth, the Destruction of the Golden Idol. The tenth, the Lamentation of the Widow. The eleventh offering, the Marriage of the Beast and the Woman Clothed in the Sun.”
  17. conjecture
    believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
    Dr. Poblocki gave a small shrug. “There, I’m afraid, I can only conjecture.”
  18. repast
    the food served and eaten at one time
    “And now, it is high time I joined Mrs. Poblocki for our Sunday repast.”
  19. rhapsodize
    say with great enthusiasm
    Marlowe smiled brightly, the smile that made the newspapers rhapsodize over his can-do qualities.
  20. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    It was probably a nuance of language that didn’t translate quite right.
  21. subsume
    contain or include
    A tear-gas canister landed in the crowd, and the park was subsumed in a chemical fog that burned the eyes and throat.
  22. iconography
    the system or use of familiar images as symbols
    Now, Evie, can you see if there is anything in the Hale book about religious iconography?
  23. brevity
    the use of concise expressions
    Gone to see Malloy—WF. It was pure Uncle Will, from the brevity to the initials.
  24. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    Jericho deigned to look up from his book.
  25. prudent
    marked by sound judgment
    Running a household was a far cry from playing princess, and though a distant cousin admonished Ida to be prudent with her spending, she did not heed his advice.
  26. uncanny
    suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
    The most gifted of these mediums was a wealthy widow named Mary White, who had an uncanny ability to put Ida in communication with her relatives on the other side.
  27. esoteric
    understandable only by an enlightened inner circle
    Once again, the house was filled with activity, and Knowles’ End became a place for spiritual meetings, card readings, séances, and all sorts of esoteric and occult gatherings.
  28. visage
    the appearance conveyed by a person's face
    For Ida’s nervous state, Mary offered her sweet wine, which sometimes gave Ida the strangest dreams of fire and destruction and the ghostly visages of sober-faced men and women.
  29. torpor
    inactivity resulting from lethargy and lack of energy
    Ida wrote a desperate letter to her cousin in Boston, who sent the authorities, but when they came Ida was in such a torpor that Mrs. White told them she was not well but was being cared for, and that she hoped even this effort to descend the stairs and submit to their questions had not put her health in danger.
  30. charlatan
    a flamboyant deceiver
    She was a Knowles, not like these Johnny-come-latelies with their new money and airs: that charlatan Mrs. White, who had left to conduct a séance at the country house of some poor soul with more money than sense.
  31. extol
    praise, glorify, or honor
    On the radio, the announcer extolled the merits of the Parker Dental System, “Because your dental health is too important to leave to chance.”
  32. fritter
    spend frivolously and unwisely
    “It’s very nice of your uncle to take you girls to a poetry reading. It’s important to tend to your education rather than fritter away time in bourgeois, immoral pastimes such as dancing in nightclubs.”
  33. segue
    proceed without interruption, in music or talk
    The orchestra segued into a hot, sensual number, and Evie leaned her head against Theta’s shoulder.
  34. overbearing
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    He was a good dancer. Graceful and quick-footed, he knew how to lead without being overbearing.
  35. moxie
    courage, confidence, and determination
    He hoped Evie had managed to escape. He had to hand it to her, she had moxie. He liked girls with moxie. They were trouble. And Sam liked trouble even more than moxie.
  36. heretic
    a person whose religious beliefs conflict with church dogma
    “The seventh offering is vengeance. Turn the heretics from the Temple of Solomon. And their sins shall be purified by blood and fire.”
  37. edifice
    a structure that has a roof and walls
    Eugene Meriwether let himself into the imposing white edifice of the Grand Masonic Lodge on West Twenty-third Street, near the rattling thunder of the Sixth Avenue El, and climbed the steps to a small office on the third floor.
  38. consternation
    sudden shock or dismay that causes confusion
    He thought with consternation of old Mr. Saunders, who liked to drink and might have stumbled in.
  39. expiation
    the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing
    For there is no expiation of sin but by blood.
  40. precipice
    the brink of a dangerous or potentially disastrous situation
    And as the walls began to whisper, he lost his footing on the precipice of reason and began the terrible fall into a hell beyond imagining.
Created on Sun Oct 23 14:03:11 EDT 2022 (updated Wed Aug 30 10:44:00 EDT 2023)

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