Unfadeable: Chapters 1–5

by Maurice Broaddus
Living on her own, thirteen-year-old Isabella Fades tries not to attract the attention of anyone who might report her to Indiana's Department of Child Services, but then she discovers that her community is not getting their fair share of the collected taxes.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–11, Chapters 12–18, Chapter 19–Epilogue
40 words 98 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. trifling
    not worth considering
    I recognize the officer driving it by his trifling mustache, looking like he pasted squirrel fur on his upper lip.
  2. tawny
    having the color of tanned leather
    Her sepia skin color is darker than my tawny complexion—my light skin is the only trace left behind by my father.
  3. fleck
    a small contrasting part of something
    Her eyes are my masterpiece. Bronze with gold flecks in them.
  4. chisel
    carve with an edge tool
    With the number 1906 chiseled onto its cornerstone, it looked like another house overgrown with weeds and ivy.
  5. refurbish
    improve the appearance or functionality of
    Since it’s on our block, the city had forgotten about it, but she organized folks to help refurbish it into a community space.
  6. convention
    a large formal assembly
    Two o’clock weekday meetings don’t make sense. Naturally, the crowd outside the library is mostly a blue-hair convention, since the only people who can attend are retirees, the unemployed, and the people paid to be there.
  7. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    She wears it like a crown and half struts, yet doesn’t quite meet people in the eye.
  8. mode
    a particular functioning condition or arrangement
    Her eyes, always on scan mode, are like everyone’s at my school when they bump into me: constantly searching for someone better to talk to.
  9. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    I make my lip tremble. Just a level one tremble—subtle but noticeable.
  10. scrounge
    collect or look around for
    Not wanting to study him any closer, I scrounge around in my book bag until I come up with my phone charger.
  11. complexion
    the coloring of a person's face
    I thought my complexion was light, but the old man’s practically white compared to me.
  12. tout
    advertise in strongly positive terms
    His collared shirt is unbuttoned, revealing a T-shirt touting a group called The Last Poets, who look like the great-granddads of a rap group.
  13. petty
    small and of little importance
    “Good afternoon. For those who don’t know...” Her voice trails off a bit, giving her room to launch a petty smile. The kind of fake grin that means, if folks have gathered here, they should know who she is.
  14. drone
    talk in a monotonous voice
    The woman next to her drones on about past business, committee updates, and budget items as I realize someone is perched beside me.
  15. vitiligo
    skin condition characterized by patches of unpigmented skin
    Vitiligo spreads along her hands. It’s a skin condition some folks get where they start to lose their color.
  16. stoop
    bend one's back forward from the waist on down
    He raises the microphone to keep from stooping down to it.
  17. overwhelm
    overcome by superior force
    Even with only the couple dozen or so folks present, the room has grown hot enough to overwhelm the barely working air-conditioning.
  18. august
    profoundly honored
    “Anyway, the Corner is doing so well, we’re running into a parking issue. I’d like to submit a proposal to this august body to possibly purchase the lot next to the center and partner with you to turn it into a parking lot.”
  19. allotted
    given as a task or a portion
    “Yes, you were. While we appreciate the passion of our young people”—her face is a wad of wrinkles over the microphone—“the fact of the matter is that any funding falling under ‘art’ or ‘education’ has already been allotted for infrastructure.”
  20. agenda
    a list of matters to be taken up, as at a meeting
    “This actually brings us to a last item of business I wanted to add to our agenda.”
  21. casually
    in an unconcerned manner
    Like I said, I know when I’m not being taken seriously, and I hate it even more when I’m so casually ignored.
  22. forge
    make a copy of with the intent to deceive
    At least once a week they send a note home about it for my mom to sign. Which means at least once a week I have to forge her signature.
  23. allocate
    distribute according to a plan or set apart for a purpose
    “We’ve already decided to allocate CISC’s money from the TIF. The recipients have already been chosen.”
  24. poise
    great coolness and composure under strain
    Inhaling a calming breath, she straightens taller in her seat with the dignified poise of a queen.
  25. prominent
    conspicuous in position or importance
    Only the city’s most prominent families live there. Golden Hill is so extra they have their own police guarding their little housing division.
  26. submission
    the act of surrendering power to another
    The largest one, Phineas, is a sleek black cat with too much belly and too short of legs who still manages to boss the other cats into submission.
  27. foundation
    an institution supported by an endowment
    My dad was a manager at some foundation. I never quite understood what it was, but I knew it was important. Anytime someone mentioned its name, people stiffened or their eyes widened. It gave away money to “folks doing good work,” he said.
  28. complement
    make perfect or supply what is wanting
    She’d choose his ties or his pocket squares, always to draw out or complement the icy blue of his eyes.
  29. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
    Ms. Campbell sounds all cryptic, like her words are supposed to mean something to me.
  30. venture
    put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation
    “I’m heading over that way,” I venture, hoping whatever she’s holding back on might trip out.
  31. negotiate
    succeed in passing through, around, or over
    It’s like there are a series of invisible boundaries I have to negotiate carefully.
  32. umber
    of the color of any of various natural brown earth pigments
    His government name is Michael and his umber coloring makes his resting mean-mug face more intense and serious.
  33. custom
    made according to the specifications of an individual
    He got it in his head that he wanted to start his own custom T-shirt company.
  34. cue
    a stimulus that provides information about what to do
    He spits, off to the side. That’s my cue to start running back the way I came, checking over my shoulder to see what kind of lead I have on them.
  35. grudge
    a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation
    Who knows when I’ll be able to make it back this way, especially with these two clowns looking for me? They’ve been known to hold a grudge for a minute.
  36. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    I want to figure out what she’s up to, wipe that smug smirk off her face, and see what’s up with the park situation.
  37. shingle
    building material used as siding or roofing
    Once Aaries is out of sight, I turn to go toward the house. I pass a mound of brick, asphalt, and torn shingles piled and shaped into a statue of a face.
  38. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
    An awning of corrugated metal serves as the roof for those times he wanted to paint or sculpt outdoors.
  39. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    Framed photos and paintings hang on the walls, obscured by the dim lighting.
  40. rivet
    a heavy metal pin used to fasten two pieces of metal
    Grover stands closest to the door, with fingers of wound copper wire, a body of rivets, hair made from pipes, and a face molded from furnace scrap.
Created on Thu Dec 14 13:17:01 EST 2023 (updated Fri Dec 15 12:02:06 EST 2023)

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.