The Diviners: List 4

by Libba Bray
In this first book of the series, seventeen-year-old Evangeline O’Neill is enjoying life in 1920s New York City, until her museum curator uncle is called in to consult on a murder and she realizes that her ability to read objects could be helpful.

This list covers "A Late-Summer Evening"–"City of Dreams."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sanctimonious
    excessively or hypocritically pious
    Will was making a speech, something about having been young and careless once, the sort of thing old-timers said when they issued a deathblow, as if they thought their sanctimonious ramblings disguised as empathy would be welcomed, but Evie was only half listening.
  2. atonement
    the act of making amends for sin or wrongdoing
    What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent?
  3. antecedent
    a preceding occurrence or cause or event
    “There was no antecedent. I’m a curator and scholar. I must have sourcing,” Will said matter-of-factly. “How did you come to discover it?”
  4. privy
    informed about something secret or not generally known
    Were you privy to only an hour of the object’s history, or could you see back farther?
  5. coif
    the arrangement of the hair
    He’s aided in his work by his niece, Miss Evie O’Neill, late of Zenith, Ohio, a comely seventeen-year-old Sheba who knows her onions about everything from witches’ coifs to the bones of Chinese conjurers.
  6. phalanx
    any closely ranked crowd of people
    In the center of the room, a phalanx of cops and a coroner surrounded a small altar.
  7. canvass
    get opinions by asking specific questions
    The other officers canvassed the room, taking notes.
  8. awry
    away from the correct or expected course
    Jericho and Sam watched the scene unfold like a tennis match gone awry.
  9. belligerent
    characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight
    He had that tic in his jaw that Memphis had seen a few times before, when he’d had to deal with a drunken, belligerent customer or a hopped-up bootlegger.
  10. strapping
    muscular and heavily built
    He was a strapping man of twenty then, six feet tall, his skin a smooth dark brown and free of the brands his ancestors wore with shame.
  11. paisley
    a fabric with a colorful swirled pattern of curved shapes
    She’d tied a green paisley scarf across her forehead in a Bohemian fashion.
  12. lilting
    characterized by a buoyant rhythm
    Henry took up a lilting jazz number of his own.
  13. undertaker
    one whose business is the management of funerals
    In 1871, he worked for an embalmer—that’s a real undertaker, not a bootlegger. He set up a profitable side business selling cadavers to medical schools.
  14. burgeon
    grow and flourish
    “Does your mother know you’ve a burgeoning criminal mind?”
  15. bellows
    a mechanical device that blows a strong current of air
    At that, Sam would blow a hidden bellows, making the curtains move, and the jaded Janes and their dapper dates would gasp and chuckle, thrilled by their close call with a ghost.
  16. rebuff
    force or drive back
    He tried to get closer and was rebuffed by a young man: “Wait your turn, Father Time.”
  17. dowdy
    lacking in stylishness or taste
    Evie and Jericho were having a late lunch in the Bennington’s dowdy dining room.
  18. gangrene
    the localized death of living cells
    “Thank you,” Evie said, already thinking up excuses for why she needed to leave: sick uncle, building on fire, a sudden case of gangrene.
  19. dregs
    sediment that has settled at the bottom of a liquid
    Miss Addie peered into the dregs of Evie’s tea, examining the pattern the leaves had left in the bottom of the cup, and frowned.
  20. blithely
    in a joyous, carefree, or unconcerned manner
    “I killed a man for insulting my honor,” Evie said blithely.
  21. miscreant
    a person without moral scruples
    They entered the building to find a bedlam of officers and miscreants. It was like opening night at a Broadway show of criminals.
  22. imbue
    fill or soak totally
    She’d never been able to read it; the coin was too imbued with her own memories.
  23. frock
    a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
    Before I know it, you’ll be pinning gardenias to your frocks and sitting with gentlemen callers on the front porch—under the watchful eye of your dear brother, of course.
  24. cadence
    a recurrent rhythmical series
    A sound startled him. One, two, three; one, two, three. A three-legged cadence, like an off-tempo waltz.
  25. tableau
    any dramatic scene
    On the far wall hung a cracked mirror. It reflected the room in a fractured tableau.
  26. newel
    the post at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs
    A grand central staircase led to a second floor. Its elegantly carved newels were rotted through in spots.
  27. austere
    of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor
    She swept the flashlight across austere oil portraits silvery with spiderwebs.
  28. brocade
    thick expensive material with a raised pattern
    Nothing was broken, but her flashlight was gone, and her new gold brocade coat was now in tatters; a square of bright cloth stuck to the mouth of the laundry chute.
  29. brash
    offensively bold
    I found it rather brash that he would appropriate my curio cabinet so.
  30. propriety
    correct behavior
    But Mary tells me that Mr. Hobbes is a spiritual man unbothered by earthly concerns and proprieties, though he is kind enough to oversee, at his own expense, repairs to the house, which is a great comfort to me as I wish Knowles' End to be returned to its former glory.
  31. assessor
    an official who evaluates property in order to tax it
    Mary says I am overwrought by grief at speaking with my dear mother and father so often and by the assessor's continued letters for payment of taxes.
  32. permeate
    spread or diffuse through
    A foul stench permeates the house, turning my stomach.
  33. skulk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    The beast skulks the halls of the house, frightening all within.
  34. surmise
    infer from incomplete evidence
    It seems she chanced upon a locked room left unlocked and nearly plummeted to her death through a trapdoor and a chute that she surmises can only lead to the cellar.
  35. profane
    grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred
    Then I read his terrible book. Profane! Obscene! Filled with degradation and filth!
  36. conciliatory
    intended to placate
    T. S. Woodhouse spread his arms in a conciliatory gesture.
  37. comeuppance
    a usually negative outcome or fate that is well deserved
    She also understood that T. S. Woodhouse would do anything, say anything, step on anyone to get that story. It had been a mistake to get involved with him. And it was time for T. S. Woodhouse to get his comeuppance.
  38. apprehension
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    She felt Gabe’s first stab of apprehension.
  39. testament
    strong evidence for something
    “This, and these”—he gestured to the library’s teeming shelves—“they’re a testament to the country’s rich supernatural history.”
  40. corporeal
    having material or physical form or substance
    I think he needs to ingest them to become stronger. More corporeal. Spirit made flesh.
Created on Sun Oct 23 14:03:19 EDT 2022 (updated Wed Aug 30 10:44:05 EDT 2023)

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