Habibi: List 5

by Naomi Shihab Nye
When her Arab-American family moves to Jerusalem, Liyana is unprepared for the prejudice they face — or for the close bond she forms with a Jewish boy named Omer.

This list covers All Our Roots Go Deep Down Even If They’re Tangled–Doors.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 11 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. itinerary
    a proposed route of travel
    Now they were waiting for further instructions from God because they hadn’t received a complete itinerary.
  2. orderly
    a hospital attendant with general duties
    “I know a hospital that could really use some volunteers right now. It’s in Gaza and all the orderlies have been quitting and the nurses are in an uproar and nothing is getting done. Just a day or two of help would be a—Godsend.”
  3. alienate
    make withdrawn or isolated or emotionally dissociated
    Reverend Holman said to their mother, as if Rafik and Liyana weren’t present, “Your children must feel alienated here, don’t they?”
  4. melodramatic
    characteristic of acting or a stage performance
    Rafik added, sighing in a melodramatic way, “But we do miss the school milk in little red cartons,” which made his mother put her thumb and first finger together like an alligator closing its mouth.
  5. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Reverend Crump asked for a last glass of water so he could take his “anti-panic pill” and Liyana stifled a laugh, pretending it was a cough.
  6. brooding
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    Poppy asked if the meal had upset him and he said, “Night brings on a brooding melancholia.”
  7. melancholy
    a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed
    Poppy asked if the meal had upset him and he said, “Night brings on a brooding melancholia.”
  8. wispy
    thin and weak
    For years the word floated in the air around their heads, yellow pollen, wispy secret dust of the ages passed on and on.
  9. oddity
    a strange attitude or habit
    In return, Liyana’s family gave them oddities to think about.
  10. paisley
    a fabric with a colorful swirled pattern of curved shapes
    Liyana wore blue jeans with paisley patches on the knees and her aunts pointed and whispered.
  11. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    Poppy admonished her, “They think you're destitute if you dress like that.”
  12. destitute
    poor enough to need help from others
    Poppy admonished her, “They think you're destitute if you dress like that.”
  13. disoriented
    having lost your bearings
    The road out front looked strangely deserted except for a few kids in raggedy jackets and two disoriented goats.
  14. devout
    deeply religious
    Mom voted for the one on the cliff above the bus station, a cave in the craggy rock, where a small group of devout and frozen people was already waiting, shivering in skinny coats and scarves and hats and gloves.
  15. baffled
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    Liyana stared at Rafik, baffled.
  16. dank
    unpleasantly cool and humid
    The air smelled dank and sour.
  17. stern
    strict and demanding
    The soldier stepped forward roughly, motioning that he was ready to escort Liyana out, but she held her hand up and said sternly, “WAIT.”
  18. waft
    blow gently
    The fragrance of cooking rice wafted down the hospital hall.
  19. leaden
    made heavy or weighted down with weariness
    Her feet felt leaden on the stairs.
  20. activist
    a reformer who works to achieve social or political change
    He was becoming an activist in his old age.
  21. prophet
    someone who speaks by divine inspiration
    “They always seem—universal. Do you have any passages from your favorite prophet Kahlil Gibran you’d like to read to me just now?”
  22. downcast
    filled with melancholy and despondency
    But he called her back the next day, sounding downcast, just needing to talk.
  23. kibbutz
    a collective farm or settlement in modern Israel
    Omer was leaving for two weeks with his class on an extended field trip to a kibbutz in northern Israel.
  24. dainty
    affectedly refined
    Liyana's mother walked daintily down the steps with her hand extended. “Hello again!” she said to Omer.
  25. tome
    a large and scholarly book
    Rafik lay on his bed reading a recently arrived tome of Star Trek wisdom, the Vulcan dictionary.
  26. jaunty
    having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
    He came toward Omer with his hand out, a little too jauntily, and said, “Let’s hit the road!”
  27. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    As their car careened past a concrete Jewish settlement with its enclosures of barbed-wire fencing and military tower, Omer craned his neck to stare out the window and spoke soberly.
  28. hyperventilate
    breathe excessively hard and fast
    Poppy kept taking full breaths at the wheel, as if he were hyperventilating.
  29. dinky
    small and insignificant
    Poppy pulled a handful of dinky loose change from his pocket and dropped it on the ground in front of three boys.
  30. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    They stepped carefully over the crooked threshold of Sitti's house.
  31. resound
    ring or echo with noise
    The note resounded through the valley.
  32. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    Khaled and Nadine looked mesmerized.
  33. renegade
    a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause
    If Sitti could be a renegade, then she could, too.
  34. recluse
    one who lives in solitude
    He had been a recluse and almost never came down.
  35. smother
    deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion
    The candle flame was swallowing itself. She tipped the glass to the side so the hot wax wouldn’t smother the wick.
  36. disciple
    one who believes and helps spread the doctrine of another
    They all ordered the same thing: Disciple's Special. A holy, purified meal.
  37. yak
    talk profusely
    She waggled her finger at Rafik and yakked excitedly.
  38. croon
    sing softly
    Sitti touched her first two fingers to Liyana’s forehead, and crooned.
  39. ravenous
    extremely hungry
    Sitti took a ravenous nibble before everyone else was served.
  40. beckon
    summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture
    He took a tentative bite, beckoned to the first waiter, and pointed sadly at his fish.
Created on Wed Jan 23 20:02:38 EST 2019 (updated Tue Jan 29 15:48:54 EST 2019)

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.