The Canyon's Edge: List 4

by Dusti Bowling
When Nora gets lost while exploring a canyon, she must fight to survive and find her father.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two: Black Water–A Drink, Part Two: Carried Away–Desert Sun, Part Two: Forgive–Part Three
25 words 63 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gangly
    tall, thin, and awkward
    Nothing
    but scrubby brittlebush
    and scrawny palo verdes
    and gangly ironwoods
    and towering saguaros
    as far as I can see.
  2. pummel
    strike, usually with the fist
    People say respect the desert,
    as if it’s a big muscular bully who will
    pummel you for the slightest misstep.
  3. mirage
    optical illusion in which hot air distorts distant objects
    Despite the heat mirages
    wavering all around me,
    despite the turkey vultures
    now circling above me as I walk,
    floating on their invisible whirlpools,
    I hope the desert
    doesn’t judge me too harshly.
  4. precipice
    a very steep cliff
    I walk along the precipice,
    watching the ground for rattlesnakes.
  5. aquifer
    underground layer of rock or sand that yields groundwater
    Beneath the hard, hot desert ground,
    the underneath is filled with endless aquifers.
  6. disintegrate
    break into parts or components or lose cohesion or unity
    It’s a wonder I don’t disintegrate
    into a puff of powder.
  7. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    I drop the fruit on the ground
    and smash it with my boot,
    then I pry it open
    with my thorn-filled fingers
    and suck the meager warm fruit out.
  8. tattered
    worn to shreds; or wearing torn or ragged clothing
    Nothing but hair,
    chopped, tattered, and matted with mud.
  9. traumatic
    psychologically painful
    Eleanor, sometimes people who have experienced
    a traumatic event come back
    even more resilient than they were before.
  10. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
    Eleanor, sometimes people who have experienced
    a traumatic event come back
    even more resilient than they were before.
  11. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    Even when I once more veer
    toward the edge.
  12. wariness
    the trait of being cautious and watchful
    It tilts its head at me,
    watches me with curiosity,
    with wariness.
  13. contort
    twist and press out of shape
    His left arm
    contorted strangely behind him.
  14. infuse
    fill, as with a certain quality
    It sends waves of energy
    through the atmosphere
    until they reach my body and infuse it,
    like a river flooding a dry wash,
    with the will to go on.
  15. threshold
    the starting point for a new state or experience
    I stand at the edge
    of the precipice,
    threshold,
    abyss.
  16. abyss
    a bottomless gulf or pit
    I stand at the edge
    of the precipice,
    threshold,
    abyss.
  17. nauseate
    upset and make ill
    I watch as the dark outline
    of his exoskeleton
    molts and drops
    to the ground
    with a nauseating,
    crackling,
    wet
    crunch.
  18. malformed
    distorted or badly shaped
    I see his malformed shadow
    moving closer.
  19. desolation
    sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned
    I feel Desolation’s putrid breath on my sunburned neck.
  20. putrid
    of or relating to the process of decay
    I feel Desolation’s putrid breath on my sunburned neck.
  21. constrict
    become tight or as if tight
    My chest
    constricted.
  22. pinpoint
    locate exactly
    I look down, attempt to
    pinpoint a landing place.
  23. shroud
    cover as if with a burial garment
    I lie back and stare at the sky,
    now shrouded in gray clouds.
  24. crescendo
    a gradual increase in loudness
    A crescendo builds
    as the canyon threatens
    to come apart around us.
    Whatever’s coming,
    we’ll face it together.
  25. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    After a minute, she opens the door halfway, a tentative look on her face.
Created on Mon Feb 08 17:26:48 EST 2021 (updated Tue Feb 23 16:11:54 EST 2021)

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