Cemetery Boys: Chapters 10–14

by Aiden Thomas
Yadriel is determined to prove to his family that he's a brujo. When he accidentally summons the ghost of classmate Julian Diaz, the two boys investigate a series of strange disappearances.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–14, Chapters 15–20, Chapter 21–Epilogue
35 words 83 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. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    Luckily, he stopped at the top of the stairs, but was poised to take off, one hand already on the railing.
  2. rivulet
    a small stream
    Grass grew between the crooked pavers, and small rivulets ran down wide pillars.
  3. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    She shifted her skateboard in her grip. She wasn't exactly brandishing it, but Yadriel fully believed she’d used it as a weapon before and wouldn’t hesitate to do so again.
  4. paraphernalia
    equipment consisting of miscellaneous articles
    There was no drug paraphernalia, no guns or weapons that he could see.
  5. buffet
    strike against forcefully
    The thundering approach of a train filled Yadriel’s ears. As it passed overhead, the wheels clacked loudly, buffeting the air and reeking of diesel.
  6. crestfallen
    brought low in spirit
    “Usually, when stuff goes down, Rio takes us in,” Flaca said in a small, crestfallen tone.
  7. covenant
    a signed written agreement between two or more parties
    “We take care of each other." He stood tall, his chin jutting out stubbornly.
    “Blood of the covenant,” Omar told Yadriel, holding his hands out as his sides.
    Julian sighed and said in a defeated tone, “Is thicker than the water of the wound.”
  8. malapropism
    misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar
    His eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced to Julian, barely able to keep himself from correcting him for yet another malapropism.
  9. facade
    a showy misrepresentation to conceal something unpleasant
    He saw their looks of shock and fear. Rocky squeezed a quaking Flaca, doing her best to look fierce, but it was a crumbling facade.
  10. machismo
    exaggerated masculinity
    “What kind of machismo...”
    He was angry, and Julian’s outburst had scared him, which only made him more angry.
  11. reel
    walk as if unable to control one's movements
    Julian turned so abruptly, Yadriel reeled back a step.
  12. complacent
    contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions
    He didn’t want Julian to be complacent about the fact that he’d been murdered. Whoever did this to Julian and Miguel, Yadriel refused to let them get away with it.
  13. straggler
    someone who strays or falls behind
    A couple of stragglers made their way into the church.
  14. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    Tentatively, he opened the door a crack and listened.
  15. terse
    brief and to the point
    “Are you okay?” he asked again, a bit tersely.
  16. laden
    filled with a great quantity
    Tables laden with food were set on the outer edges between the pillars.
  17. devolve
    grow worse
    “How could there be no sign of Miguel?” a younger bruja asked, and the group devolved into more arguing and questions.
  18. exacerbate
    make worse
    The brujx tried to band together and close their ranks. As a community that was already so close-knit and stuck to their own, it only exacerbated their fear of outsiders.
  19. manipulation
    exerting shrewd or devious influence for one's own advantage
    He used fear and manipulation to bend humans to his will.
  20. satiate
    fill to satisfaction
    Without human sacrifices to satiate his hunger, he threatened to unmake the land of the living.
  21. appease
    cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
    Seeing the pain and torture caused to appease the jaguar god, Lady Death left her throne to confront Bahlam.
  22. bequeath
    leave or give, especially by will after one's death
    This last set Lady Death bequeathed to the very first family of brujos and brujas.
  23. earnest
    characterized by a firm, sincere belief in one's opinions
    “Times are changing, hermano,” his tío said, earnest and almost pleading. “We need to make changes in order to survive. Our lineage is faced with ever weakening magic.”
  24. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    “We should be embracing differences, even if it scares us,” Catriz implored.
  25. abrasive
    sharply disagreeable, unpleasant, or harsh
    Julian was abrasive, sometimes rude, and didn't seem to have much tact.
  26. tact
    consideration in dealing with others
    Julian was abrasive, sometimes rude, and didn't seem to have much tact.
  27. idyllic
    excellent and delightful in all respects
    It seemed way too easy, way too idyllic. Things didn’t just work like that in the real world.
  28. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    Julian’s anger was palpable, like an electric storm in the air around him.
  29. profoundly
    to a great depth psychologically
    “I don’t know, I never expected to live that long, anyways,” he confessed.
    Yadriel didn’t know what to say. There was something so profoundly sad in how casually he said it.
  30. opacity
    the degree to which something reduces the passage of light
    It was like someone had cranked down his saturation and opacity. Julian seemed duller now, his edges slightly more blurred than before.
  31. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    “I’m starting to think ghosts don’t sleep,” Julian replied with a wry smile.
  32. apparition
    a ghostly appearing figure
    Yadriel didn’t want to come home and find the Julian he knew had vanished, leaving nothing but a horrifying apparition in his place.
  33. convulse
    shake uncontrollably
    Again, the image of Julian convulsing and flickering haunted him.
  34. inflection
    the modification of pitch, tone, or volume when speaking
    He spoke in a monotone completely devoid of inflection.
  35. feigned
    not genuine
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait, I missed it, what was that?” he asked, holding his hand up to his ear with feigned confusion.
Created on Tue Oct 06 10:15:11 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Oct 08 13:29:24 EDT 2020)

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.