The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: List 3

by Ann Brashares
A pair of magical jeans helps four best friends feel close even when they can't be together.

This list covers "I have seen the future and it’s like the present, only longer."–"If you don’t find it in the index, look very carefully throughout the entire catalog."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
35 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. resistant
    impervious to being affected
    Tibby gazed forlornly at the noodles lying on the synthetic washable blue carpet. It was so resistant to stains, Tibby suspected it was made of Saran Wrap.
  2. provocative
    serving or tending to excite or stimulate
    “He probably has a girlfriend in New York,” a girl named Rosie said.
    "We'll see about that,” Bridget said provocatively.
  3. circuitous
    deviating from a straight course
    She stood up and walked to the buffet table to get another helping of lasagna. She took a circuitous route in order to pass Eric. She knew her friends would be watching.
  4. languidly
    in a lethargic manner
    She ducked all the way under the water and then came up again. She floated languidly with just her face above the surface.
  5. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    She saw the shadow of a figure obscured behind a tree. Was it a man? An animal? Were there vicious, man-eating animals on Santorini?
  6. haphazardly
    in a random manner
    Still soaking wet, she yanked on her clothes haphazardly.
  7. preposterous
    inviting ridicule
    The idea that I would be attractive to Paul and a threat to his and Skeletor’s happiness is preposterous.
  8. testy
    easily irritated or annoyed
    Tibby was annoyed. She couldn’t take much more mocking about the smock. “Would you leave the smock alone?” she asked testily.
  9. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    Tibby silently berated herself for such bad planning.
  10. blithely
    in a joyous, carefree, or unconcerned manner
    “The first scrimmage is tomorrow,” Rosie pointed out.
    “So? Partying makes you play better,” Bridget said blithely.
  11. impulsive
    characterized by undue haste and lack of thought
    She was in one of her impulsive moods.
  12. placid
    calm and free from disturbance
    The placid bay was to their left and the hills were to their right, and the full moon sat on Bridget’s shoulder.
  13. coy
    affectedly shy especially in a playful or provocative way
    She made it a point never to be coy, but she wanted him to be able to watch her if he wanted to.
  14. heady
    extremely exciting as if by alcohol or a narcotic
    But another round of margaritas later, the coaches were out on the dance floor too. It was heady and good.
  15. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    Fleetingly Carmen considered the nasty question of who was paying for all this.
  16. stoicism
    an indifference to pleasure or pain
    But she thought of Lydia with her dead mom and her drunk husband, and silent Paul with his messed-up dad. In that context, his silence seemed more like stoicism.
  17. dub
    give a nickname to
    Team three, recently dubbed Los Tacos, and team four, Los Cocos, had the other field for practice.
  18. canape
    appetizer made of a piece of bread or toast with toppings
    Grilled shrimp canapés, salmon gravlax (what the hell is that?), crisped spinach, and roast pork loin. The flower arrangements involve tuberose (huh?) and magnolia blossoms (her favorite!) I could go on for another forty-five pages, Tib, but I’ll spare you.
  19. surly
    unfriendly and inclined toward anger or irritation
    Hours after the fight, Lena sat between the two surly old men in a clinic in Fira.
  20. intervene
    get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action
    Even so, she’d felt relieved to see his big sturdy self intervening in the fight and calming the two men down before they killed each other.
  21. gaffer
    an electrician responsible for lighting on a movie or TV set
    “So you definitely need help,” Bailey reasoned. “I’ll be your cameraman. Or your sound man. Or your gaffer. Or your best boy.”
  22. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    Bailey fidgeted in her chair. “I always wanted to make a documentary,” she said wistfully.
  23. discomfit
    cause to lose one's composure
    Tibby was both amazed and discomfited by the way this conversation was going.
  24. inhibit
    limit the range or extent of
    I’m not sure the Pants have the effect we were hoping for. Oh, and I got a little blood on them—which may further inhibit their magic (did my best to wash it out, though).
  25. implicate
    bring into intimate and incriminating connection
    If Paul wasn’t going to bust her, should she implicate herself? Carmen wondered.
  26. caricature
    a representation of a person exaggerated for comic effect
    He was a caricature of a caricature of a loser.
  27. grudging
    unwilling or reluctant
    Tibby watched Bailey with grudging admiration as she attached the external microphone to a makeshift boom.
  28. ambient
    completely enveloping
    With all the ambient noise inside and outside the store, there was no way to get a reasonable interview without a directed microphone.
  29. tabloid
    sensationalist newspaper with half-size pages
    She moved from an extreme close-up of an unnaturally pink Hostess Snowball, to a tabloid rack trumpeting Vanna White's alien baby, to a counter display of Slim Jims.
  30. primp
    dress or groom with elaborate care
    He didn’t primp or stiffen or put his head at a weird angle the way many people did before a camera.
  31. unnerve
    disturb the composure of
    Tibby was slightly unnerved by his honesty and the levelness of his stare.
  32. grail
    a legendary chalice used at the Last Supper
    “Round one is the forest. The year is A.D. 436. The first great expedition in the search for the Holy Grail.” Tibby trained the camera on the screen, looking over his shoulder.
  33. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    "Oh, yeah. You're right,” Tibby said nonchalantly. "That was my third one. I don't have another one charged. Maybe we could finish this later."
  34. aback
    by surprise
    He was taken aback by her directness. He glanced across at her and groaned. “Look, I’m...flattered. I’m honored. Who wouldn’t be?”
  35. repentant
    feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds
    She wanted to look sincere and repentant, but her noisy cereal was messing up the effect.
Created on Tue Oct 19 20:29:13 EDT 2021 (updated Tue Oct 26 17:15:47 EDT 2021)

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