These Violent Delights: Chapter 29–Epilogue

by Chloe Gong
In this reimagining of Romeo and Juliet set in Shanghai in the 1920s, two teens from rival gangs must work together to end a feud.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 4, Chapters 5–12, Chapters 13–18, Chapters 19–28, Chapter 29–Epilogue
40 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. iteration
    the act or process of doing or saying again
    She simply realized upon staring into the hazy blue iteration of M NTUA that there were little flecks of water coming from the sky, and when she touched her face, her fingers came back slick with moisture.
  2. nicety
    conformity with some standard of correctness or propriety
    Roma had decided to go rough in contrast to Juliette’s niceties, but it seemed neither tactic was working.
  3. incensed
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    “The Larkspur is essentially picking and choosing who lives and who dies,” she accused, incensed.
  4. cheeky
    offensively bold
    The cheeky glint in Archibald’s eye seemed to fade.
  5. warrant
    show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for
    “I believe that answer warrants a few more shots. It was a good one, wasn’t it?”
  6. camaraderie
    the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability
    Wasting no time, Archibald stood as soon as he finished, clapping a heavy hand over Juliette’s left shoulder and another over Roma’s right shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie.
  7. pervade
    spread or diffuse through
    The neon glow that pervaded the walls downstairs was absent here.
  8. inebriated
    stupefied or excited by a chemical substance
    Perhaps she was to throttle him, or pluck out his eyes, or go for the gun he had in his pocket, but Roma was faster even in his inebriated state.
  9. ire
    anger; irritability
    Roma merely looked upon the ire in her manner and responded in kind.
  10. exuberance
    joyful enthusiasm
    Roma’s kiss was just as she remembered. It filled her with so much adrenaline and exuberance that she could burst.
  11. ethereal
    characterized by lightness and insubstantiality
    It made her feel too ethereal for her own body, as if she could tear out of her own skin.
  12. ploy
    a maneuver in a game, conversation, or situation
    “You destroy me and then you kiss me. You give me reason to hate you and then you give me reason to love you. Is this a lie or the truth? Is this a ploy or your heart reaching for me?”
  13. unhinged
    affected or as if affected with madness or insanity
    “What is wrong with you?” Rosalind hissed. “Why have you become unhinged?”
  14. cognition
    the psychological result of perception and reasoning
    It seemed that not only had his body reached its breaking point, but his mind had too, teetering past the point of bouncing back and now merely sitting idle, in wait for something to shift it back into cognition.
  15. imposing
    befitting an important, distinguished, or powerful person
    Just as she paused, intending to fling away the water, she caught sight of a tall and imposing figure entering the other end of the alleyway.
  16. modicum
    a small or moderate or token amount
    “Don’t I deserve to know? Don’t I deserve at least a modicum of what the hell was going through your brain when you decided to tell your father exactly how to set an ambush on my—”
  17. glean
    collect or gather bit by bit, especially information
    He hadn’t used the information he gleaned from his time with her as a tool of power.
  18. fraught
    marked by distress
    He was telling her to ease back, not to upset the Larkspur before they had gotten what they came for. But his touch startled her, and when she jumped in shock, her already fraught nerves rose from tense to catastrophic.
  19. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    “You wish to know my business with Zhang Gutai?” he whispered gutturally.
  20. settee
    a small sofa
    They kept their weapons in this small room, with the grandfather clocks and the rotting settees, in a row of cabinets that would have otherwise appeared inconsequential to a casual observer.
  21. petulant
    easily irritated or annoyed
    Perhaps she had stepped into a machine that took them back to being petulant toddlers.
  22. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    She untangled her hands from her shirt and held them out in front of her. It was both an action to keep Rosalind at a distance and to placate her sister like she would placate a feral animal.
  23. swath
    a path or strip (also figurative)
    She had chosen a small swath of grass where the building curved inward a little, near the rusty back door that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks.
  24. succession
    a following of one thing after another in time
    A thunderous gunshot echoed out from the office building. Three more pops followed in close succession.
  25. indomitable
    impossible to subdue
    You are the same indomitable girl I would have laid my life down to save.
  26. crevasse
    a deep fissure
    It seemed that Juliette had misspoken, had come across a crevasse and misjudged her leap, spiriting down, down an endless dark rip—
  27. galvanize
    stimulate to action
    The chaos in the city would galvanize those in the outskirts, would incite them to rise up with steel-backed urgency and roaring mayhem.
  28. cherubic
    having a sweet nature befitting an angel
    Instead, he tilted his head in a bastardized, cherubic manner and said, “I’ve been wanting to tell you, Juliette. I must admit, when I imagined this revelation coming to light, I envisioned you more impressed than you presently seem to be.”
  29. vehemence
    intensity or forcefulness of expression
    Spittle flew from Juliette’s mouth in her vehemence.
  30. apt
    mentally quick and resourceful
    “You cannot stop me,” Juliette said. “More apt men have tried and failed. Now, where is he, Paul?”
  31. rancor
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    That smile was the city’s damnation, planting rancor into its layers.
  32. wiry
    lean but strong
    From head to toe, it was built of wiry, blue-green muscle, hosting scales along the chest and suction-cup circles along the arms.
  33. fitful
    intermittently stopping and starting
    The woman nodded, the motion fitful.
  34. rivulet
    a small stream
    Rivulets of red ran down his fingers and onto the wharf, tinting his surroundings a deep color.
  35. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    The Scarlets in the room looked upon her in disdain.
  36. retribution
    the act of taking revenge
    You think you’re doing us a favor by killing all the Montagovs? It’s a trick, Tyler. All you shall invite with their deaths is retribution upon our family.
  37. appease
    cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
    He needed to register at least one sacrifice in order to be appeased.
  38. accede
    agree or express agreement
    For a long moment, it seemed that Tyler would not accede. Then, as a loud clang of metal against metal rang through the hospital, he nodded and waved for his men to follow him.
  39. abject
    most unfortunate or miserable
    And at once, in utter and abject horror, she dropped everything in her arms again.
  40. amenities
    things that make you comfortable and at ease
    This was a safe house rarely used, so rarely—given its location in the poorest parts of the city—that it did not have running water, nor any amenities past a bed.
Created on Mon Sep 20 11:07:27 EDT 2021 (updated Wed Sep 22 16:56:33 EDT 2021)

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