Merci Suárez Changes Gears: Chapters 5–11

by Meg Medina
For Merci Suárez, sixth grade is a year of change. A scholarship student at the posh Seaward Pines Academy, Merci must juggle extra community service and family responsibilities, all while coping with a nasty classmate and her beloved grandfather's declining health.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–11, Chapters 12–21, Chapters 22–28
30 words 201 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. rubric
    an authoritative rule of conduct or procedure
    “Have you even said hello to your buddy, Merci?” Edna whispers as Ms. Tannenbaum goes over the scoring rubric.
  2. spontaneous
    happening or arising without apparent external cause
    Last year, when she saw two eighth-graders kissing behind the gym, I was sure she was going to spontaneously combust.
  3. stony
    showing unfeeling resistance to tender feelings
    I give her a stony look.
  4. decisive
    characterized by resoluteness and firmness
    “I like a decisive group,” she says.
  5. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    “Over the years, I’ve noticed that developing ideas usually requires some time. Sometimes you have to mull things over for a bit to get what you’re really after.”
  6. resin
    a viscous substance obtained from plants or simple molecules
    He’s not there, so I walk by Sierpiński Sonnet, a kind of spooky sculpture made of white resin.
  7. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    That’s when I see him sprawled on the street.
  8. strew
    spread by scattering
    All the pastries we bought at El Caribe are strewn on the ground.
  9. salvage
    save from ruin, destruction, or harm
    “Let’s pick these things up before the ants start feasting,” Lolo says. “We might be able to salvage some if we hurry.”
  10. relic
    an antiquity that has survived from the distant past
    I go over absolutely everything, but the bike looks perfect—for a relic.
  11. nemesis
    a personal foe or rival that cannot be easily defeated
    And best of all, they’ll be playing against Papi’s arch nemesis, Manny Cruz.
  12. grouse
    complain
    He doesn’t look tired or grouse about fussy customers or talk on the phone to remind someone politely to pay him for a job he’s done.
  13. scrimmage
    practice play between two teams
    His teammates have already pulled on red scrimmage pinnies.
  14. demoralize
    lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
    “Merci will be in later,” Papi says. “I didn’t want to demoralize you too early in the game.”
  15. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    By the time I pried open my eyes, Roli was already pulling into Seaward.
  16. feint
    deceive by a mock action
    Simón told me I feint and cross over almost like a FIFA pro.
  17. splice
    join together so as to form new genetic combinations
    Iguanador Nation Rises! I’ve been dying to see that movie since the trailers came on TV. Dinosaurs and humans in a genetic splice become robots and take over the world.
  18. matinee
    a theatrical performance held during the daytime
    “What time is the matinee?” Hannah asks. “I have my piano lesson in the afternoon.”
    “Not a matinee,” Edna says. She leans in and wiggles her eyebrows. “We’re in middle school now. We should go at night. We can be there until the ten o’clock curfew.”
  19. usher
    someone employed to conduct others
    The building has fake balconies and street lamps, and the ushers dress in black berets and striped shirts.
  20. beret
    a soft cap with no brim or bill
    The building has fake balconies and street lamps, and the ushers dress in black berets and striped shirts.
  21. mutation
    any event that changes genetic structure
    “Genetic mutation of that type is impossible, Merci,” he says.
  22. kiln
    a furnace for firing, burning, or drying porcelain or bricks
    There’s a collage of pictures: the crew team with their new equipment, the kiln in the art room, and even one of those high-tech security cameras that are all over campus now.
  23. beady
    small, round, and shiny
    Edna’s dark brown eyes get beady. “What’s that supposed to mean, Merci?”
  24. valedictorian
    the student with the best grades
    She was annoying and obsessed with being valedictorian one day.
  25. corsage
    an arrangement of flowers that is usually given as a present
    Tía made the corsage herself from flowers in our garden, and we took pictures of the whole thing in the yard.
  26. encryption
    the activity of converting data or information into code
    “It has a whole layer of illusion and contradictions that are placed there on purpose. It’s like encryption on a computer that scrambles things and hides the valuable data. You have to know the code to be able to read what’s really there.”
  27. insomniac
    someone who cannot sleep
    “A family of insomniacs,” Tía Inés says, yawning.
  28. interim
    serving during an intermediate interval of time
    “I think there are interim steps, Abuela,” Roli says. “Fillings, for example.”
  29. berserk
    frenzied as if possessed by a demon
    I stare at my shoes, in case my eye goes berserk.
  30. chassis
    the skeleton of a motor vehicle
    After a few tries, he finally gets the engine started and we head down the driveway, the chassis squeaking and groaning.
Created on Thu Nov 01 15:16:32 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Nov 01 15:31:57 EDT 2018)

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.