Instructions for Dancing: Chapters 23–36

by Nicola Yoon
When her parents' seemingly happy marriage breaks up, high school senior Yvette (Evie) Antoinette Thomas decides she doesn't believe in love anymore, until she starts taking ballroom dancing lessons in preparation for a Los Angeles competition.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–12, Chapters 13–22, Chapters 23–36, Chapters 37–60
40 words 9 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. copacetic
    completely satisfactory
    Cassidy: Fabulous
    Martin: Excellent
    Sophie: Copacetic
  2. impervious
    not admitting of passage or capable of being affected
    Cassidy declares herself impervious to cold.
  3. requite
    make repayment for or return something
    All my loves have always been requited.
  4. unconditional
    not subject to any restrictions or limitations
    Is unconditional love real?
  5. ornery
    having a difficult and contrary disposition
    Martin asks if love can last forever. Cassidy and I are the only ones who say that it can’t. Cassidy is just being her ornery, cynical self.
  6. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    Everyone gives Cassidy a hard time for saying she hopes there’s no life after death. “Once is enough for me, thank you very much,” she says. Eventually, though, she relents and says it’d be okay if she “ends up where all the cool, fun people are.”
  7. prodigious
    very impressive; far beyond what is usual
    It’s excellent.
    Stupendous.
    Phenomenal.
    Prodigious.
    Every synonym for excellent ever conceived.
  8. nostalgia
    a longing for something past
    The hallways are a minefield of nostalgia bombs and regret grenades. Most conversations begin with either Do you remember the time? or I wish I had.
  9. strew
    spread by scattering
    A late-night pool party in someone’s backyard. Christmas lights strung across the sky. Kids strewn across the lawn.
  10. scour
    examine minutely
    Danica’s big, dark eyes are scouring my face.
  11. obscure
    marked by difficulty of style or expression
    There was a time when he would’ve used an obscure phrase like plighting our troth instead of getting married.
  12. plight
    promise solemnly and formally
    There was a time when he would’ve used an obscure phrase like plighting our troth instead of getting married.
  13. troth
    a mutual promise to marry
    There was a time when he would’ve used an obscure phrase like plighting our troth instead of getting married.
  14. etymology
    a history of a word
    He’d have made me geek out over the etymology with him, and I would’ve teased him about his word nerdiness even though I’m a word nerd too.
  15. quirky
    strikingly unconventional
    We have the same sense of humor: slightly quirky, slightly cynical.
  16. bemused
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    We have the same outlook on the world: halfway between amused and bemused.
  17. duplicity
    the act of deceiving or acting in bad faith
    If it wasn’t for his duplicity, I wouldn’t need his sympathy.
    “Don’t act like you care, because we both know that—”
  18. macabre
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Lake Pit is my favorite of the pits because it has one of the most macabre sculptures I’ve ever seen.
  19. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    The other adult and the baby mammoth are safe on land, but the baby is clearly trumpeting in distress. Its mouth is frozen wide-open in a scream. Its trunk is rigid and pointed straight at the trapped mammoth. The other adult mammoth looks resigned.
  20. amble
    walk leisurely
    Ten minutes later, Martin comes ambling up the hill.
  21. connoisseur
    an expert able to appreciate a field
    No one else is a connoisseur like Dad. No one else will appreciate all the different types of salsa and what makes one better than the other.
  22. cue
    a tapering rod used to strike a ball in pool or billiards
    Wilshire Billiards is not one of those dark, dingy pool halls you always see in movies. It’s a big, clean space with pristine tables, polished cues and dark-wood mounted racks.
  23. grizzled
    having gray or partially gray hair
    They’re mostly grizzled, grumpy old white guys, but they’re excellent pool players.
  24. downplay
    understate the importance or quality of
    “Is Julio right about you being a pool shark?”
    “I’m okay,” I say, downplaying my skills.
  25. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    I shoot the nine but miss. I’m still flustered by his trickery and by how good he is.
  26. prompt
    assist by suggesting the next words of something
    We eat for a little while before he prompts me again: “You weren’t always like what?”
  27. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    “It’s okay you’re feeling cynical these days. It’s okay if you don’t trust the world so much right now. You have good reasons.”
  28. vestibule
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    She checks her face in the vestibule mirror and turns to Danica.
  29. sacrilege
    blasphemous behavior
    Taco Night is a religious experience and missing it is definitely a sacrilege.
  30. devise
    arrange by systematic planning and united effort
    “Should we devise a conquering strategy?” he asks.
  31. partake
    consume
    At my confused look, he goes on: “We need to decide which trucks to partake of and in what order.”
    I can’t help smiling. “You mean because of the great chimichanga incident of yesteryear?”
  32. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    We talk about last year’s winning word—prospicience—which, weirdly enough, given my current predicament, means “foresight.”
  33. errant
    straying from the right course or from accepted standards
    “Lemme just check there’s nothing weird in there,” I say. I open the door just enough to squeeze my body through and then close it in his face.
    By “nothing weird,” I mean no errant underwear or anything else embarrassing.
  34. blase
    nonchalantly unconcerned
    “Come on in,” I say, trying for blasé, but it’s hard to be blasé when you’ve just been hiding your underwear.
  35. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    He stops inside the threshold and does a slow perusal of my room.
  36. perusal
    the act of examining or reading carefully
    He stops inside the threshold and does a slow perusal of my room.
  37. casual
    not showing effort or strain
    “There’s nothing else to see here. Why don’t we go back downstairs now?” That sounded much more casual in my head.
    “Yes, indeed, shall we?” he says, mock-formal, totally making fun of me.
  38. deadpan
    without betraying any feeling
    “How’s the practicing coming along?”
    “Good, good. Our instructor hasn’t killed us yet,” X says.
    “Funnily enough, I didn’t realize I was in danger of losing my firstborn,” Mom says, deadpan.
  39. grovel
    show submission or fear
    I look to Martin for help. “Grovel,” he mouths.
    I didn’t think it was going to be this hard to get back to being friends.
  40. grueling
    characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion
    She sets us a grueling practice schedule. Mondays are for bachata. Tuesdays are for salsa. Wednesdays for West Coast swing. Thursdays for the Hustle. Since Argentine tango is the hardest, she schedules three days of practice: Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Created on Thu Jan 25 16:25:20 EST 2024 (updated Fri Jan 26 14:22:13 EST 2024)

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.