The Girl on the Train: List 4

by Paula Hawkins
Despite losing her job, Rachel continues riding the commuter train every day—and becomes increasingly involved in the lives of the people she observes through the train window.

This list covers Rachel: August 3, 2013 – Anna: August 13, 2013 in the 2015 edition published by the Penguin Group.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 33 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. admit
    declare to be true or accept the reality of
    I didn’t admit how bad things were.
  2. confront
    present somebody with something, usually to criticize
    I keep thinking about the day I saw Kamal, about the way he kissed her, about how angry I was and how I wanted to confront her.
  3. evoke
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    Under the smoke, that scent—fresh, lemony, aromatic—evokes a memory of sitting on the train next to him, just like I am now, only we’re going the other way and someone is laughing really loudly.
  4. envy
    a desire to have something that is possessed by another
    I felt a horrible pang of envy then, a longing for Saturdays spent lying on the sofa with the newspapers and a hazy memory of leaving the club the night before.
  5. contempt
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    They look at me with disgust, contempt, and no one will listen to me, no one will let me tell them how sorry I am.
  6. eventually
    after an unspecified period of time or a long delay
    Something felt off, but I realized eventually that it was just me.
  7. theory
    a belief that can guide behavior
    You know something.” He’s saying this as though it’s fact: not a question, not an accusation, not a theory.
  8. desperately
    with great urgency
    Blinking into the sunlight, I try desperately to piece together what I saw, but nothing comes.
  9. impart
    transmit, as knowledge or a skill
    Is there some knowledge I’m desperate to impart?
  10. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    Because all this started with him: a glimpse of him and my life changed course, veered off the tracks.
  11. circumspect
    careful to consider potential consequences and avoid risk
    The newspapers say that the police are being more circumspect, that they cannot afford to make another hasty arrest.
  12. appeal
    earnest or urgent request
    There are screen grabs of him giving his first tearful appeal for Megan’s return, and next to them are pictures of killers who had also appeared on television, sobbing, seemingly distraught at the fate of their loved ones.
  13. reckless
    marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences
    So, stupid and reckless I may be, but I am going to see Kamal Abdic, because unlike all the speculators, I have seen Scott.
  14. impression
    a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
    I knew the way I knew that he wasn’t Scott the first time I saw him, when he was nothing but a shadow moving towards her—just an impression of tallness, of loose, languid movement.
  15. accountable
    responsible for one's actions
    “You want to take responsibility for what you have done, and you find it difficult to do that, to feel fully accountable if you cannot remember it?”
  16. transgression
    the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle
    “So, how do we take responsibility? You can apologize—and even if you cannot remember committing your transgression, that doesn’t mean that your apology, and the sentiment behind your apology, is not sincere.”
  17. persona
    an image of oneself that one presents to the world
    I shouldn’t have talked about real things, I should have gone in there with some totally made-up problems, some imaginary persona.
  18. exude
    make apparent by one's mood or behavior
    I can see what Megan saw in him, and it’s not just that he’s arrestingly handsome. He’s also calm and reassuring, he exudes a patient kindness.
  19. rifle
    go through in search of something
    I’ve been lost in thought, thinking about what these sessions with Kamal are actually supposed to achieve: am I really planning to rifle through his desk drawers if he happens to leave the room?
  20. allegation
    a formal accusation against somebody
    “Sources close to the Hipwell investigation” claim an allegation has been made that Megan “may have been involved in the unlawful killing of her own child” ten years ago.
  21. speculate
    believe, especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
    The “sources” also speculate that this could be a motive for her murder.
  22. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    He tried to placate me, he made all the right noises, he told me it was probably a load of rubbish anyway.
  23. paranoia
    a mental disorder characterized by delusions of persecution
    And then the paranoia came, that feeling I’ve had almost all the time I’ve lived in this house, of being watched.
  24. assess
    estimate the nature, quality, ability or significance of
    And then even Megan, when she was here with Evie: I always felt she had half an eye on me, as though she were assessing me, assessing my parenting, judging me for not being able to cope on my own.
  25. rife
    excessively abundant
    The speculation has been rife, fingers pointed at the police, at Kamal Abdic, at Scott.
  26. distress
    psychological suffering
    His shock, his distress—it has to be real.
  27. treacherous
    tending to betray
    I feel treacherous. He left me just hours ago, and here I am, on my way to see Kamal, to meet once again the man he believes killed his wife.
  28. struggle
    exert strenuous effort against opposition
    I am struggling to see him as a man capable of beating a woman, of crushing her skull.
  29. retina
    a light-sensitive membrane covering the back of the eyeball
    I can feel it now, the light searing my retinas, everything stark and white, horrifying.
  30. seductive
    tending to entice into a desired action or state
    As the words slip seductively off his tongue, warm and honeyed, I can almost believe them.
  31. figment
    a contrived or fantastic idea
    I ignored the fact that at the very best, Jess is nothing but a figment of my imagination, and at the worst, Jess is not nothing, she is Megan—she is dead, a body battered and left to rot.
  32. evidence
    an indication that makes something apparent
    Back in the bedroom, I look around for evidence of her—a robe on the back of the door, a hairbrush on the chest of drawers, a pot of lip balm, a pair of earrings—but there’s nothing.
  33. baffled
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    And when I brought it up with Tom—calmly, matter-of-factly—he was just as baffled as I was.
  34. instinct
    inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to stimuli
    My instinct is to dismiss anything that bitch says, but I can’t get away from the feeling I had when I was at Scott’s house on Saturday, that something was off, something was wrong.
  35. illusory
    having the nature of something unreal or deceptive
    But if my mind is playing tricks, isn’t it more likely to be the dream that’s illusory?
  36. merge
    mix together different elements
    I couldn’t bear to have other images in my head, yet more memories that I can’t trust, memories that merge and morph and shift, fooling me into believing that what is is not, telling me to look one way when really I should be looking another way.
  37. clarify
    make clear and comprehensible
    Just talking about a particular memory can help you to clarify things, going over the details in a setting in which you feel safe and relaxed
  38. frustration
    the feeling of being thwarted in attaining your goals
    It doesn’t make sense, and I could scream with the frustration of it, the not knowing, the uselessness of my own brain.
  39. deny
    refuse to recognize or acknowledge
    Being the other woman is a huge turn-on, there’s no point denying it: you’re the one he can’t help but betray his wife for, even though he loves her. That’s just how irresistible you are.
  40. vouch
    give personal assurance; guarantee
    There’s no way I’ll be leaving her with a childminder again, no matter how qualified or vouched for they are.
Created on Wed Mar 02 12:49:06 EST 2016 (updated Wed Sep 26 09:32:46 EDT 2018)

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