Unfadeable: Chapters 12–18

by Maurice Broaddus
Living on her own, thirteen-year-old Isabella Fades tries not to attract the attention of anyone who might report her to Indiana's Department of Child Services, but then she discovers that her community is not getting their fair share of the collected taxes.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–11, Chapters 12–18, Chapter 19–Epilogue
40 words 8 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. warrant
    a judicial writ commanding police to perform specified acts
    I wait on M’s front porch for nearly five minutes before I commit to pounding on it like police with a warrant.
  2. flurry
    a sudden and overwhelming outpouring or amount
    My first knocks are met with a flurry of barks and a whirl of claws against wood floor.
  3. defiance
    a hostile challenge
    I cross my arms in defiance.
  4. falter
    speak haltingly
    I didn’t come here to say I’m sorry, but my voice falters a bit, nearly breaking with something close to apology.
  5. peal
    a deep prolonged sound
    The peal of a trumpet to some sort of march music snags my attention.
  6. hypnotic
    attracting and holding interest as if by a spell
    Slowly he begins conducting. His head sways back and forth, caught up in the play, riding the notes. It’s almost hypnotic watching him.
  7. improvise
    perform without preparation
    “You know what you can learn from jazz? How to improvise. You gather your team, learn what they can do, and when one of you goes off script, everyone trusts each other to just move in their flow.”
  8. array
    an impressive display or assortment
    M snaps back awake to study his array of monitors.
  9. scrawl
    poor handwriting
    He skims through social media, credit reports, financial papers, working his way down a list I hadn’t noticed before, written in the kind of scrawl a five-year-old might make.
  10. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    I tentatively touch one, flinching as if it might be a trap, before resting my hands in his.
  11. finesse
    subtly skillful handling of a situation
    He was going to war with all of his teachers. One after another, just a hardheaded approach. What he needed were more finesse and strategy.
  12. totter
    walk unsteadily
    M’s limp has him tottering from side to side more than usual as he walks over to join me at the mirror.
  13. snide
    expressive of contempt
    The man takes a long snide up-and-down study of M, from his red leather fedora to his wrinkled shirt.
  14. ruddy
    inclined to a healthy reddish color
    The man’s voice constricts, and when I glance back, his ruddy face blanches all shades of pale.
  15. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    The man’s voice constricts, and when I glance back, his ruddy face blanches all shades of pale.
  16. coy
    showing marked and often playful evasiveness or reluctance
    “Didn’t I mention that?” M keeps his back to the man but aims a coy smile my way.
  17. tinge
    affect as in thought or feeling
    No hiding his skepticism; the man’s tone tinges with uncertainty.
  18. gawk
    look with amazement
    Gawking at the pageantry and production, all the beautiful and powerful people gathered, I can’t help but feel like I’m out of my depth.
  19. leverage
    strategic advantage; power to act effectively
    “But it’s also the administration. The principal, vice principal, deans. Other kids’ parents. The rules. The school board. An entire system. And you’re just one student. You have to see all the pieces to see who has the power. They are your leverage points.”
  20. scraggly
    lacking neatness or order
    M runs his fingers through his scraggly beard.
  21. leer
    look suggestively or obliquely
    “Well, well, well. Lookie here, lookie here.” Jared leers at me.
  22. stylized
    using artistic forms and conventions to create effects
    A black button-down shirt with jeans. A print of a stylized gold dragon on the left shoulder spilling onto his chest.
  23. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    Jared remains oblivious, but Fury studies me, calculating how big a threat I am.
  24. disposal
    the act or means of getting rid of something
    I snatch several shrimp from a passing server and hold up a finger for her to wait while I shuck the empty tails back onto her tray for disposal.
  25. dais
    a platform raised above the surrounding level
    After a few minutes, Mattea climbs up on the dais.
  26. beeline
    the most direct route
    Mattea locks on to M as she descends from the podium and makes a beeline for him.
  27. usher
    accompany or escort
    M wraps an arm around my waist to usher me out of Mattea’s range before the shock of my outburst sinks in.
  28. spiteful
    showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt
    I stop myself from another spiteful kick and make a noise somewhere between a grunt and sigh.
  29. assess
    estimate the nature, quality, ability or significance of
    Assess what you know. You’ll come up with something.
  30. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    Wearing a dingy tank top and jeans, he rubs his eye and wipes his hand on his shirt.
  31. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    M revolves in his chair, intrigued.
  32. promptly
    in a punctual manner
    The receptionist promptly opens the doors at 8 a.m.
  33. transcript
    a written record of dictated or recorded speech
    “Yeah, the TIF governance board minutes.”
    “What’s a young person like yourself want with boring transcripts? You miss school that much?”
  34. fray
    wear away by rubbing
    Not that I had a lot of calm and cool to begin with, but I feel them about to fray around the edges.
  35. prone
    having a tendency
    “But you have to be careful how you do it. I know how prone you are to kicking things.”
  36. nook
    a secluded place, corner, or recessed area
    I slide into my study nook and read and reread the documents on my phone.
  37. turnover
    the rate at which workers have to be replaced
    There’s a lot of turnover among the staff, let alone the volunteers.
  38. philosophy
    any personal belief about how to live
    She follows my personal philosophy: the best way to stay out of fights is to avoid them.
  39. generic
    having no special or distinctive characteristics; unoriginal
    I don’t want anything to track back to M. My plan is to build a generic website from a template on one of those free sites so that I can post the documents online.
  40. barge
    push one's way
    He drags Thmei to a back room and shuts her in, allowing Mattea to barge into M’s office.
Created on Thu Dec 14 13:17:39 EST 2023 (updated Fri Dec 15 11:36:51 EST 2023)

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.