In the Wild Light: Chapters 35–48

by Jeff Zentner
Cash and Delaney's friendship is tested when they get the chance to leave their working-class community to study at an elite prep school.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–22, Chapters 23–34, Chapters 35–48, Chapter 49–Epilogue
35 words 13 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. mollify
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    “Really good,'' I murmur, and I'm not just saying it to mollify her.
  2. abiding
    unceasing
    It's the same abiding peace I experience after being on the river. The time we were working slipped past me without my even noticing.
  3. buffet
    strike against forcefully
    I’m tired of living on the leading edge of a storm front, being buffeted by the rising winds.
  4. deftly
    in an agile manner
    I touch her elbow, but she flinches away deftly.
  5. spat
    a quarrel about petty points
    I see people gawking, but I don't care. Just another marital spat, everyone.
  6. tenacity
    persistent determination
    She has a certain wiry strength and tenacity when hugging. Like each time she’s not sure if she’ll ever let you go.
  7. miasma
    an unwholesome atmosphere
    I awake in a miasma of sadness at not being with Papaw and Mamaw today.
  8. doldrums
    a state of inactivity
    But, like a fog yielding to the sun, the doldrums quickly burn off after I join Delaney, Alex, and Vi in the dining hall for breakfast.
  9. satiety
    being satisfactorily full and unable to take on more
    Sometimes you don't even realize you are ravenous until you start eating. Dr. Adkins's story has identified that feeling I get when I read and write poetry: satiety. I didn't know to call it a hunger until now.
  10. sumptuous
    rich and superior in quality
    While we talk, the room fills even more with the sumptuous smell of cooking.
  11. magnum opus
    a creator's greatest work of art or literature
    Desiree starts getting ready for Thanksgiving about forty-eight hours in advance. It's her magnum opus.
  12. flourish
    a showy gesture
    Alex lowers the tray to Dr. Adkins with a theatrical flourish.
  13. staid
    characterized by dignity and propriety
    “Please enjoy a premeal appetizer," he says in a staid British accent.
  14. portmanteau
    a new word formed by combining two others
    “Your use of the portmanteau crabstravaganza has spared you from a lecture on premeal appetizer's being redundant," Dr. Adkins says, double-fisting a crab cake and a crab deviled egg.
  15. redundant
    repeating the same sense in different words
    “Your use of the portmanteau crabstravaganza has spared you from a lecture on premeal appetizer's being redundant," Dr. Adkins says, double-fisting a crab cake and a crab deviled egg.
  16. incongruous
    lacking in harmony or compatibility or appropriateness
    The afternoon sky is incongruously sorrow gray, and it's chilly enough that we'd notice if we stopped talking and laughing for long enough.
  17. dub
    give a nickname to
    He tells her he's heard wonderful things about her from me. He tells her she should come visit Tennessee sometime and let me take her out on the river. She says she'd love that. He dubs her Sunshine.
  18. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    I have the most meager collection of good memories from when I was little.
  19. teeming
    abundantly filled with especially living things
    I step out into the whir of the teeming city.
  20. castigate
    censure severely
    Delaney throws me one last castigating look over her shoulder as they walk away. I shrug sheepishly. She'll get over it.
  21. urbane
    showing a high degree of refinement
    I feel unsophisticated by comparison. I'm carrying Dr. Adkins's book, which I hope makes me look a little smarter and more urbane.
  22. debonair
    having a sophisticated charm
    I could imagine everyone I’m seeing in a tuxedo or an evening gown. They even look debonair in workout clothes.
  23. render
    show in, or as in, a picture
    You play with a friend and walk around a huge city like New York, rendered in perfect digital detail, interacting with each other and the environment.
  24. bluster
    a violent gusty wind
    “Wanna sit?" I ask, hoping she'll interpret the unsteadiness of my voice as a shiver from the frigid bluster.
  25. dexterity
    adroitness in using the hands
    “Now you're testing my skills," I say. “The cold reduces dexterity, and the light isn't great."
  26. impending
    close in time; about to occur
    The awful prickly chill of impending sickness cascades down my back like a legion of centipedes.
  27. exuberant
    joyously unrestrained
    They regale us with their culinary odyssey. They're so exuberant, it eases Vi's and my efforts to act like everything's fine.
  28. stark
    complete or extreme
    What a stark difference between this ride and the ride to Manhattan.
  29. acquiesce
    agree or express agreement
    She had no desire to go home for Christmas break, but I told her she could stay with us, so she acquiesced.
  30. rift
    a personal or social separation
    Being home again mends some of the rifts in me.
  31. self-effacing
    reluctant to draw attention to yourself
    “You talking about poetry gave me the itch. Took up whittling again since you been gone. This one's about the only thing that turned out,” he says, his proud face betraying his attempt at self-effacement.
  32. bequeath
    leave or give, especially by will after one's death
    It feels like he's bequeathing me an inheritance of the only wealth he possesses—his memories, his quiet joys.
  33. appraise
    estimate the nature, quality, ability or significance of
    Delaney reaches over and brushes a tear from my cheek and holds it up to the light of the window like she's appraising a diamond.
  34. timbre
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
    But that's not the timbre of her voice.
  35. brood
    think moodily or anxiously about something
    "Like you're carrying something heavy in your heart.”
    "Brooding?”
    "Yes! Brooding,” she says in a deep, ominous voice.
Created on Thu Mar 10 10:08:30 EST 2022 (updated Fri Mar 18 10:53:35 EDT 2022)

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.