Booked: Bad–Freedom

by Kwame Alexander
Kwame Alexander scores again with this story about the soccer-playing son of a linguistics professor. This list of words can assist your goal of improving your vocabulary.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Gameplay–Not-Cool, Bad–Freedom

Here are links to our lists for other books by Kwame Alexander: The Crossover, Solo, Rebound, Swing
15 words 301 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. demoralize
    lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
    He demoralizes Pernell. Drops him to his butt.
  2. feint
    deceive by a mock action
    Pernell taunts him, feints a pass. Coby doesn’t fall for it.
  3. perforated
    having a hole cut through
    You have a perforated appendix and we need to get you into surgery.
  4. grimace
    contort the face to indicate a certain mental state
    What does that even mean? you ask, grimacing.
  5. equine
    relating to or resembling a horse
    Out of nowhere Mom starts crying and apologizing for breaking up the family to chase her equine dreams.
  6. malapropism
    misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar
    This isn’t a pigment of your imagination?
    A malapropism, I remember.
  7. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    Well, that’s promising, you think, as your next guest saunters into the hospital room.
  8. stupefied
    as if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise
    (And, of course, you mean stupefied, but you’re too stupefied to actually say it.)
  9. amass
    collect or gather
    Then a soldier takes him to America where he’s adopted and just about to find out if he’s made the baseball team on page 54 which means you have amassed four hours and thirty minutes of nonstop TV.
  10. contemplation
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    It was stellar, and I was quite moved by its contemplation of the human spirit.
  11. epistolary
    written in the form of letters or correspondence
    Like Peace, Locomotion, an epistolary novel, which means a—
    I KNOW WHAT EPISTOLARY MEANS, she shouts, still frowning.
  12. articulate
    characterized by clear expressive language
    Your mother mentioned you were exceptionally articulate.
  13. interrogate
    pose a series of questions to
    DAAAADDDDD, why are you interrogating him?
  14. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
    The irony of this is colossal.
    You laugh long and loud like a Guinea baboon being tickled.
  15. deter
    turn away from as by fear or persuasion
    Stay on your own path. Don’t let anyone deter you.
Created on Tue May 10 19:26:55 EDT 2016 (updated Mon Jul 28 17:19:10 EDT 2025)

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