Love, Hate & Other Filters: Chapters 12-17

by Samira Ahmed
Maya Aziz thinks her biggest problem is convincing her traditional parents to allow her to study filmmaking in New York City — but when a terrorist attack is committed near her hometown, she must also confront prejudice in her community.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-2, Chapters 3-7, Chapters 8-11, Chapters 12-17, Chapter 18-Epilogue
40 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. lilting
    characterized by a buoyant rhythm
    Her lilting accent never fails to capture the music of the language.
  2. vignette
    a small illustrative sketch
    I’ve already seen the movie—it’s an anthology, a little collection of vignettes about life in Paris, each taking place in a different quarter of the city.
  3. conceit
    an artistic device or effect
    But the conceit of the film is that it feels like a documentary, even though it isn’t.
  4. poignant
    arousing powerful emotions, especially pity or sadness
    It makes the character’s story so much more poignant.
  5. elude
    escape, either physically or mentally
    But there’s this little moment, where she feels joy and sadness at the same time, and what she realizes is that you can find life even when you think it eludes you—
  6. discern
    perceive, recognize, or detect
    There’s a steady flow of news and innuendo, and it’s hard to discern the truth.
  7. secular
    not concerned with or devoted to religion
    I know millions of American Muslims—both religious and secular—are echoing these very same words at this very same moment.
  8. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
    I’m not just scared that somehow I’ll be next; it’s a quieter fear and more insidious.
  9. interminable
    tiresomely long; seemingly without end
    After a few more interminable minutes, there’s a loud knock at the door.
  10. vise
    a holding device attached to a workbench
    A vise clamps its jaws around my heart.
  11. brash
    offensively bold
    We step outside into the brash light of another world I can’t possibly understand.
  12. emblazon
    decorate, adorn, or inscribe with a design
    The Special Agent in charge, the man in a dark blue windbreaker with FBI emblazoned along the sleeve and back of the jacket, steps up to the podium.
  13. at large
    having escaped, especially from confinement
    We are also working to determine any accomplices or known associates who may still be at large.
  14. corroborate
    support with evidence or authority or make more certain
    The FBI holds a press conference at the site, corroborating hearsay that a passport found at the crater belonged to Kamal Aziz, an Egyptian national.
  15. antithesis
    exact opposite
    “These terrorists are the antithesis of Islam. They’re not Muslim. Violence has no place in religion, and the terrorists are responsible for their own crimes, not the religion and not us.”
  16. viscous
    having a relatively high resistance to flow
    There’s a viscous, dreamlike quality to all of this.
  17. semblance
    the outward or apparent appearance or form of something
    That’s one of the things I hate most about a small high school. Everyone knows everything immediately. There’s not even a semblance of anonymity. Or privacy.
  18. formidable
    extremely impressive in strength or excellence
    “I assume this qualifies as a hate crime and that the police will be pursuing every lead with all their formidable resources?”
  19. decelerate
    lose velocity; move more slowly
    As Violet drives up, the world decelerates, and tiny details come into sharp focus.
  20. decorum
    propriety in manners and conduct
    “Maya, can’t you see that Mayor Graham was so nice to stop by,” he says, ever aware of decorum.
  21. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    I’m relieved, honestly—relieved that he’s himself and talking to me in the patient but admonishing tone people use to tell a five-year-old they’ve done something wrong.
  22. provincial
    lacking sophistication or worldliness
    I know I complained to Phil that Batavia is too provincial, but I think sometimes I take the positives—the people—for granted.
  23. feign
    give a false appearance of
    She would always feign surprise and delight and place the leaves in a vase in the middle of the table.
  24. reprieve
    the act of postponing or remitting punishment
    I fold my hands across my body, grip my twisting stomach, and scan my memory for a moment of reprieve.
  25. labored
    requiring or showing effort
    She seems grayer, her movements older and labored.
  26. gauzy
    so thin as to transmit light
    I block the scene so when we kiss, faces around us blur, a filtered lens diffuses the light, and a smoke machine blows gauzy wisps of gray across the floor.
  27. pithy
    concise and full of meaning
    I wait for her usual comment, something pithy or flirtatious.
  28. abet
    assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing
    “My mom is still pissed at her for aiding and abetting on the whole applying-to-NYU thing.”
  29. arduous
    taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance
    As cleanup crews continue the arduous process of sorting through the wreckage of the Federal Building here in downtown Springfield, this surprise from the FBI: Kamal Aziz, initial suspect in the terrorist attack appears to be a victim himself.
  30. cordial
    politely warm and friendly
    My parents and I shuffle around like cordial strangers.
  31. lore
    knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote
    They chopped it down two decades ago when the tree got sick, but according to old Batavia lore, when the leaves were green and full, the elm looked exactly like Abraham Lincoln’s profile.
  32. sanitarium
    a hospital for recuperation or for treating chronic diseases
    It faced in the direction of Bellevue, the sanitarium where Mary Todd Lincoln was forced to stay for a while in the 1870s.
  33. wallow
    devote oneself entirely to something
    The pond is the best place to wallow in my wretched state.
  34. renege
    fail to fulfill a promise or obligation
    But another part of my heart can’t forgive them for reneging on their promise.
  35. insolent
    marked by casual disrespect
    I want desperately to sound coolly detached but not like I’m trying too hard to sound coolly detached—basically Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not but less insolent and more Indian.
  36. begrudge
    be envious of or feel annoyance toward
    I can’t begrudge him.
  37. segue
    changing smoothly from one state or situation to another
    “Sometimes you’ve got to be less cerebral and more intuitive. So I figured I’d take a chance, trust my heart, and be less concerned about all the made-up things that were supposedly getting in our way. Cue segue. So how are things with Phil?”
  38. rhetoric
    using language effectively to please or persuade
    Mr. Branson frequently commented on right-wing extremist websites with strong antigovernment rhetoric and attended meetings of the Midwestern Knights of Brotherhood in Indiana.
  39. fatigues
    military uniform worn by personnel when doing menial labor
    He’s wearing fatigues and an army green T-shirt.
  40. presumptuous
    going beyond what is appropriate, permitted, or courteous
    “I didn’t want to disturb you. I know it’s your spot. I should never...I’m sorry. I was presumptuous.”
Created on Thu May 10 09:34:42 EDT 2018 (updated Thu May 10 09:45:27 EDT 2018)

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