Zeitoun: Part V

by Dave Eggers
When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the Zeitoun family faced not only the aftermath of the storm, but also the sudden and inexplicable arrest of Adbulrahman Zeitoun, a small business owner and father of four. Learn these words from their story, as reported by acclaimed writer Dave Eggers.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V
30 words 117 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. garbled
    lacking orderly continuity
    She looked at the young woman, but the sounds coming from her mouth were garbled, backward.
  2. elliptical
    rounded like an egg
    She lost herself in the blond wood grain, slipping into the elliptical lines of age on the wood’s surface.
  3. dismissive
    showing indifference or disregard
    Kathy smiled and waved her hand dismissively.
  4. dissipate
    cause to separate and go in different directions
    The pain in his side dissipated, and this convinced Zeitoun it had been caused not by anything visible on an X-ray, but by heartbreak, by sorrow.
  5. tipsy
    slightly intoxicated
    Some days, when she walked, she would feel tipsy, swaying side to side, needing to rest against walls as if struck by vertigo.
  6. vertigo
    a reeling sensation; a feeling that you are about to fall
    Some days, when she walked, she would feel tipsy, swaying side to side, needing to rest against walls as if struck by vertigo.
  7. sclerosis
    any pathological hardening or thickening of tissue
    One doctor suggested she might have multiple sclerosis; so many of her symptoms seemed to indicate some kind of degenerative illness.
  8. cognitive
    relating to or involving the mental process of knowing
    Doctors administered tests of her cognitive skills, and she did poorly on those that measure memory and recognition.
  9. sear
    become superficially burned (also figurative)
    The arresting officer was named Donald Lima, and this name, Donald Lima, seared itself into her mind.
  10. siphon
    move a liquid from one container into another by a tube
    When he couldn’t find Guardsmen who had gas, Lima siphoned fuel from cars and trucks.
  11. amiss
    not functioning properly
    They found four men inside, and something about them and the scene seemed amiss.
  12. enumerate
    specify individually
    And though the authors admitted that it was unlikely that terrorists would act during or after a hurricane, they nevertheless enumerated the many ways they might do so.
  13. deployment
    the distribution of forces in preparation for battle or work
    These terrorists “might even hope that National Guard and other units are less able and well-equipped to respond...because of deployments overseas.”
  14. gauge
    judge tentatively or form an estimate of
    Before the storm, the committee wrote, the terrorists would be most likely to use the occasion “to observe precautionary measures to gauge emergency response resources and continuity of operation plans at critical infrastructures.”
  15. mobilize
    make ready for action or use
    Terrorist activity during the storm, the committee felt, was “less likely due to the severe weather, unpredictability of the storm path and the difficulty of mobilizing resources.”
  16. potent
    having or wielding force or authority
    After the storm, the options for terrorists were few but potent.
  17. disseminate
    cause to become widely known
    They might “build on public panic to further destabilize the system by disseminating rumors” and therefore “increase media coverage” and “stress the public health system.”
  18. vigilance
    alert attentiveness
    “Increase patrols and vigilance of staff at key transportation and evacuation points (for instance, bridges and tunnels), including watching for unattended vehicles at these locations.”
  19. exploit
    use or manipulate to one's advantage
    Instead, they felt that “a splinter terrorist cell, or a lone actor...would be more likely to exploit a hurricane on site. This includes persons pursuing a political agenda, religious extremists, or other disgruntled individuals.”
  20. extremist
    a person who holds radical views
    Instead, they felt that “a splinter terrorist cell, or a lone actor...would be more likely to exploit a hurricane on site. This includes persons pursuing a political agenda, religious extremists, or other disgruntled individuals.”
  21. disgruntled
    in a state of sulky dissatisfaction
    Instead, they felt that “a splinter terrorist cell, or a lone actor...would be more likely to exploit a hurricane on site. This includes persons pursuing a political agenda, religious extremists, or other disgruntled individuals.”
  22. residual
    something left after other parts have been taken away
    She has moved on from Katrina in many ways, and yet the residual effects arrive at unexpected times.
  23. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    He stared for a few long moments and tried to muster the nerve to say something.
  24. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    But these were fleeting thoughts.
  25. phalanx
    any closely ranked crowd of people
    He was standing out front, surrounded by a phalanx of reporters.
  26. preternatural
    surpassing the ordinary or normal
    Ahmad is, by all accounts, a preternaturally content baby.
  27. rig
    gear for a particular enterprise
    After his release, he went to work on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico but was laid off in the fall of 2008.
  28. caulk
    a waterproof filler and sealant used in building and repair
    Zeitoun is fixing the woodwork with caulk and putty, repainting the interiors with medium grey and sage-green and bone-white.
  29. vault
    bound vigorously
    As he drives through the city during the day and dreams of it at night, his mind vaults into glorious reveries—he envisions this city and this country not just as it was, but better, far better.
  30. ludicrous
    inviting ridicule
    This has been the pattern of his life: ludicrous dreams followed by hours and days and years of work and then a reality surpassing his wildest hopes and expectations.
Created on Tue Apr 10 16:47:53 EDT 2018 (updated Wed Apr 11 11:52:25 EDT 2018)

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