The Other Wes Moore: Part II

by Wes Moore
Two children, both named Wes Moore, grew up in similar circumstances in Baltimore, but one ended up in prison while the other won a Rhodes Scholarship and became a respected business leader. In this book, author Wes Moore explores the challenges and choices that led him and the other Wes Moore to have two radically different fates.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Part I, Part II, Part III–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incarcerated
    locked up in jail or prison
    These incarcerated men, before they’d even reached a point of basic maturity, had flagrantly — and tragically — squandered the few opportunities they’d had to contribute productively to something greater than themselves.
  2. inchoate
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
    But even more than that, I found in hip-hop the sound of my generation talking to itself, working through the fears and anxieties and inchoate dreams — of wealth or power or revolution or success — we all shared.
  3. marginal
    at or constituting a border or edge
    It broadcast an exaggerated version of our complicated interior lives to the world, made us feel less alone in the madness of the era, less marginal.
  4. burnish
    enhance, improve, or perfect something
    I sensed her weakness and spent most of class coming up with creative ways to burnish my status as class clown.
  5. supine
    lying face upward
    From my supine perch on the back of the police car, I noticed an older woman staring at me, shaking her head.
  6. profusely
    in very large amounts or quantities; extremely
    Almost simultaneously, Shea launched into his brilliant “It wasn’t us” story while I loudly attempted to overrule him by apologizing profusely.
  7. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
    He appeared to be still a teenager but carried an old soul and a frighteningly serious demeanor.
  8. juncture
    a point in time when a critical decision must be made
    My grandparents knew that I was at a crucial juncture in my life.
  9. pariah
    a person who is rejected from society or home
    He didn’t have to worry about feeling alone or like a pariah.
  10. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    He slept alone on the couch in the living room, oblivious to the blaring basketball game on the television, or the fact that his son had just walked in the house.
  11. irate
    feeling or showing extreme anger
    He was met by his mother, who was now awake and irate.
  12. delineated
    represented accurately or precisely
    Everyone in the crew had a specific job with carefully delineated responsibilities.
  13. glut
    an overabundant or excessive supply
    There were over 100,000 known addicts in Baltimore, and the real number was arguably higher. Given that the city had a population of just under 700,000, there was an obvious glut of addicts.
  14. concoction
    any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients
    The stromboli is a staple in Pennsylvania cuisine, essentially consisting of a pizza folded on itself, a bread, dairy, and meat concoction held together with copious amounts of grease, classic adolescent comfort food.
  15. disarray
    untidiness, especially of clothing and appearance
    “I am Colonel Bose’s son, and not only are you rude but your uniforms are in disarray. I am going to report you both.”
Created on Tue May 12 19:52:22 EDT 2015 (updated Thu Jul 03 00:01:51 EDT 2025)

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