On the Wings of la Noche: List 5: Truth or Dare–A Vision in Black

by Vanessa L. Torres
Struggling with her grief over her girlfriend's untimely death and her responsibility to guide her soul into the afterlife, Noche's life is further complicated when she begins to fall for a new boy in town.

Here are links to our lists for the book:
List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
15 words 5 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. avert
    turn away or aside
    Julien averts his gaze.
  2. unhinged
    affected or as if affected with madness or insanity
    “Why? Because you’re totally unhinged? Join the club.”
  3. bout
    a period of indeterminate length marked by some condition
    Everyone gives their attention to the storm when another bout of torrential rain pounds the windows.
  4. dissipate
    go away, scatter, or disappear
    All at once we burst out laughing, my tension dissipating like the dwindling fire.
  5. forgo
    do without or cease to hold or adhere to
    I skip the usual, forgoing throwing whatever is nearest at the annoyance.
  6. outburst
    an unrestrained expression of emotion
    Because only friends would understand and move on after an outburst like mine.
  7. neurotic
    affected by worry due to a mental disturbance
    He’s super particular about it, bordering on neurotic.
  8. coddle
    treat with excessive indulgence
    After he ditched me at school on the heels of his breathing incident, he doesn’t seem comfortable with being coddled—
  9. quash
    put down by force or intimidation
    I ball my hands into tight fists, as if it’ll quash my anxiousness.
  10. mayhem
    violent and needless disturbance
    But there’s no use pretending there’s any seclusion in this mayhem.
  11. scrutinize
    look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
    I crane my neck, scrutinizing the kitchen.
  12. staccato
    marked by or composed of disconnected parts or sounds
    I tell myself to remember to breathe when the beating of my heart becomes a staccato flutter.
  13. decelerate
    lose velocity; move more slowly
    My raven decelerates, circling over a shadowy spot on the forest floor.
  14. elation
    a feeling of joy and pride
    “Is that…?”
    “Yes,” I say, my whole being a confusing mix of indescribable elation and utter dread when I glance down the trail toward the lake, then back at Jax’s lifeless body.
  15. pilfer
    make off with belongings of others
    Even so, I am tempted to pilfer the dead.
Created on Mon Aug 03 07:37:10 EDT 2026 (updated Tue Aug 25 15:07:10 EDT 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.