The Underground Railroad: Indiana - The North

by Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead's novel follows Cora, an enslaved woman, as she travels north in search of freedom. Infused with a hint of magical realism, this harrowing and groundbreaking book won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Ajarry-Georgia, Ridgeway-South Carolina, Stevens-North Carolina, Ethel-Caesar, Indiana-The North
45 words 100 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. interloper
    someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another
    An interloper, like a rodent that had chewed through the wall.
  2. vexing
    causing irritation or annoyance
    Georgina hailed from Delaware and had that vexing way of Delaware ladies, delighting in puzzles.
  3. badger
    persuade through constant efforts
    Sybil and Molly encouraged her—they had badgered her into their pastime—but the quilt was botched.
  4. intermediary
    a negotiator who acts as a link between parties
    The man fed them, whittled toys for the little girl, and, through a line of intermediaries, contacted the railroad.
  5. milliner
    someone who makes and sells hats
    After a spell in Worcester working for a milliner, Sybil and Molly made their way to Indiana.
  6. temperance
    the act of abstaining, especially from drinking alcohol
    Temperance was the rule except for Saturday night, when those with a taste for spirits partook and had something to think about at the next morning’s sermon.
  7. lectern
    desk or stand with a slanted top used to hold a text
    Sybil turned and shushed her, then gave Cora a quick hug as Gloria Valentine stepped to the lectern.
  8. folksy
    very informal and familiar
    Gloria worked hard on eliminating her plantation inflections—Cora heard her slip when conversation took a folksy turn—but she was naturally impressive, whether she spoke colored or white.
  9. gregarious
    temperamentally seeking and enjoying the company of others
    Sybil scorned Mingo, his greasy personality and constant jockeying; an imperious nature lurked beneath his gregariousness.
  10. opportunist
    a person who places expediency above principle
    Mingo would never be more than an opportunist, harassing the farm with his own notions about colored advancement.
  11. dignitary
    an important or influential person
    There weren’t what Valentine called "dignitaries" among them tonight—in fancy clothes, with Yankee accents—although some guests from the county had come down the road.
  12. dissemination
    the act of dispersing or diffusing something
    The widow of a big Boston lawyer, she collected funds for various ventures, the publication and dissemination of colored literature a particular concern.
  13. dappled
    having spots or patches of color
    “’Ere I saw a dappled wonder,” he recited, his voice rising and dipping as if battling a headwind.
  14. belittle
    express a negative opinion of
    If it made them happy, who was Cora to belittle them?
  15. valedictorian
    the student with the best grades
    After four years his fellows elected him valedictorian.
  16. promulgate
    state or announce
    The Honorable Judge Edmund Harrison of Maryland issued a warrant for his arrest, accusing him of “promulgating an infernal orthodoxy that imperils the fabric of good society.”
  17. effigy
    a representation of a person
    From Florida to Maine his pamphlets, and later his autobiography, were burned in bonfires along with his effigy.
  18. piebald
    having sections or patches colored differently and brightly
    The next day they set out in a buggy pulled by two piebald horses.
  19. ramshackle
    in poor or broken-down condition
    Instead they rounded a turn and stopped at a forlorn, ramshackle cottage, gray like chewed-up meat.
  20. dank
    unpleasantly cool and humid
    In the cellar above, the scavengers roused to activity, scraping. Such a dank little hole.
  21. inevitability
    the quality of being unavoidable
    After Cora agreed to go with them—never had an inevitability been so politely proposed—the three men made haste to hide the signs of the altercation.
  22. midwife
    a woman skilled in aiding the delivery of babies
    He was raised in Connecticut; his father was a barber and his mother a midwife.
  23. peddler
    someone who travels about selling wares
    His mother was a seamstress, his father a white peddler who passed through every few months.
  24. paramour
    a lover, especially a secret or illicit one
    Joe’s friends maintained that he hadn’t been to town that day; a bank clerk friendly with Valentine shared the rumor that the woman was trying to make a paramour jealous.
  25. crony
    a close friend or associate
    He hired old cronies.
  26. luminary
    a celebrity who is an inspiration to others
    Luminaries, orators, and artists started attending the Saturday-night discussions on the negro question.
  27. opaque
    not clearly understood or expressed
    Mingo, with his schemes for the next stage in the progress of the colored tribe, and Lander, whose elegant but opaque appeals offered no easy remedy.
  28. imperative
    some duty that is essential and urgent
    This was labor she recognized, she understood the elemental rhythms of planting and harvest, the lessons and imperatives of the shifting seasons.
  29. contour
    any spatial attributes, especially as defined by outline
    When she told of her escape, she omitted the tunnels and kept to the main contours.
  30. garrulous
    full of trivial conversation
    His coarse beard was entwined with gray and his belly had grown large, but he was the same garrulous fellow who’d taken in her and Caesar those long months past.
  31. sordid
    morally degraded
    His day to day on the estate consisted of conducting sordid parties in the big house and putting his slaves to bleak amusements, forcing them to serve as his victims in Cora’s stead.
  32. dismissive
    showing indifference or disregard
    Sam waved his hand dismissively.
  33. penchant
    a strong liking or preference
    Ridgeway’s penchant for violence and odd fixations had made it hard to find men willing to ride with him.
  34. pariah
    a person who is rejected from society or home
    His soiled reputation, coupled with Boseman’s death and the humiliation of being bested by...outlaws, turned him into a pariah among his cohort.
  35. cohort
    a company of companions or supporters
    His soiled reputation, coupled with Boseman’s death and the humiliation of being bested by...outlaws, turned him into a pariah among his cohort.
  36. spiteful
    showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt
    But Sam’s report on Terrance’s demise had softened her, even as it bred spiteful visions.
  37. epithet
    a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
    The driver yelled disgusting epithets as he passed.
  38. foment
    try to stir up
    Lander’s rhetoric inflamed passions; he fomented rebellion; he was too uppity to allow to run free.
  39. uppity
    arrogant or self-important
    Lander’s rhetoric inflamed passions; he fomented rebellion; he was too uppity to allow to run free.
  40. pell-mell
    in a wild or reckless manner
    Pell-mell the residents hastened to the exits, squeezing between pews, climbing over them, climbing over one another.
  41. anvil
    a heavy block on which hot metals are shaped by hammering
    She gripped the naked stems, the iron wires the blacksmith had drawn out on the anvil last week, just for her.
  42. poultice
    a medical dressing spread on a cloth and applied to the skin
    His mother used the witch-woman cures, the poultices and root potions, and sang to him every night, crooning in their cabin.
  43. winnow
    select desirable parts from a group or list
    Everybody knew it was his mother, Kate, who saved him from affliction and the early winnowing that is every plantation slave’s first trial.
  44. ornery
    having a difficult and contrary disposition
    The cottonmouth bit her twice, in the calf and deep in the meat of her thigh. No sound but pain. Mabel refused to believe it. It was a water snake, it had to be. Ornery but harmless.
  45. rout
    defeat with dire consequences
    The whites meant to rout the entirety of colored settlers.
Created on Tue Dec 12 15:26:15 EST 2017 (updated Tue Dec 19 10:18:07 EST 2017)

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