Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear: Chapters 9–13

by Robin Wasley
In this novel, high school student Sid lives in a magical town that's normally safe, but when someone triggers an apocalypse, she has to help halt it while looking for her missing brother.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1-4, Chapters 5-8, Chapters 9-13, Chapters 14-17, Chapters 18-21
15 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. telepathy
    extrasensory communication from one mind to another
    We don’t communicate about it. Maybe it’s a telepathy born from our mutual powerlessness.
  2. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
    The answer isn’t a word, but a visceral response, and one all four of us have.
  3. representational
    depicting objects, figures, or scenes realistically
    Angel has painted our town, his style not quite abstract and not quite representational, some mixture of fantasy and real, both familiar and foreign.
  4. emphatic
    forceful and definite in expression or action
    At the thought of a Shandy clone, I say an emphatic, “No.”
  5. exacerbate
    make worse
    “Sometimes you seek treatment, learn how to manage the scar tissue, how to strengthen the surrounding structures to compensate for it. But in the beginning, when it’s fresh, everything seems to exacerbate it.”
  6. eclectic
    combining or composed of elements drawn from a variety of sources
    The food offerings are eclectic, to say the least.
  7. dregs
    a small part that remains after the main part is gone
    “Menudo,” Angel says to us, nodding at Shandy, who slurps the last dregs from his bowl.
  8. broach
    bring up a topic for discussion
    But I’m not about to broach the subject of his power with him, not after what Shandy told me.
  9. throng
    a large gathering of people
    In a bound, she leaps into the throng.
  10. cavalier
    showing a lack of concern or seriousness
    The cavalier way Eleni talks about Matty dying hurts, though it’s not the first time I’ve considered it.
  11. diplomacy
    subtly skillful handling of a situation
    Eleni rolls her eyes. “Yes, try diplomacy, Brian. See how it goes.”
  12. douse
    dip into a liquid
    Angel reaches the edge of the lobby at the same moment we do, crouching to douse his hands in a pool of paint on the floor.
  13. precarious
    not secure; beset with difficulties
    “Cafeteria is where we put all the food. There are bathrooms on every floor, but our water situation is precarious. Water is a number one priority.”
  14. viscous
    having a relatively high resistance to flow
    As he throws one leg over the bench, Shandy chugs from a glass of viscous fluid the color of pond scum that he made himself.
  15. surmise
    infer from incomplete evidence
    Angel’s lips tighten as he’s likely already surmised that these are the “vigilantes” Shandy mentioned, conveniently omitting that they were after us specifically.
Created on Fri Dec 05 06:45:27 EST 2025 (updated Thu Jan 08 17:00:49 EST 2026)

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.