Today Tonight Tomorrow: List 1

by Rachel Lynn Solomon
High school senior and budding romance novelist Rowan Luisa Roth teams up with her academic rival to win a game that sends them throughout Seattle.

This list covers pages 1–62 in the 2020 edition published by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 100 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. insinuate
    suggest in an indirect or covert way; give to understand
    I picked Vision in White, my favorite Nora Roberts, a choice he scoffed at even after he’d won, insinuating I shouldn’t have gotten second place for picking a romance novel.
  2. sappy
    very sentimental or emotional
    Maybe that’s the definition of nostalgia: getting sappy about things that are supposed to be insignificant.
  3. mediocre
    lacking exceptional quality or ability
    On my first try, I draw a flawless cat-eye with liquid liner, but I have to settle for a mediocre little flick on the left side.
  4. flush
    turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
    Beneath his freckles, his pale skin will flush to match his fiery red hair.
  5. deference
    a courteous expression of esteem or regard
    Then he’ll glance up at me with an expression of utmost respect. He’ll dip his head in deference.
  6. liberal arts
    studies that provide general knowledge and skills
    Scholarships will cover most of my first semester at a small liberal arts school in Boston called Emerson.
  7. aviary
    a building where birds are kept
    The café is decorated like an aviary, plastic ravens and hawks watching you from every angle.
  8. fateful
    having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
    But going to a book signing where the books being signed are romance novels means admitting I am someone who loves romance novels, which I stopped doing after that fateful ninth-grade essay contest.
  9. nostalgia
    a longing for something past
    “Last day of school.”
    She holds a hand to her heart in mock nostalgia.
  10. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    With longish black hair obscuring half his face, he kneels next to his car, which is barely scratched.
  11. mangle
    destroy or injure severely
    Mine has a mangled front bumper and a bent license plate.
  12. cordial
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
    Needless to say, the breakup was not a cordial one.
  13. conspiratorial
    relating to or characteristic of a secret plot or agreement
    “You are maybe one of five students of mine who’s ever felt that way. I shouldn’t tell you this, but”—she leans in, cups a conspiratorial hand over her mouth—“you and Neil were my favorite students.”
  14. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “Maybe,” I concede at last, which feels like a half-confession, but I justify it with the fact that I won’t see Ms. Grable again after graduation.
  15. crafty
    marked by skill in deception
    McNair suggests we compare percentages instead. Assuming we’re both casting wide nets, I agree. I get into 7 of 10 schools I apply to. It's only after all the deadlines have passed that I learn McNair, crafty and overconfident as he is, applied to just one school.
  16. deadpan
    speak in a deliberately impassive or serious manner
    “You shouldn’t have,” I deadpan.
  17. feign
    give a false appearance of
    When he shrugs, continuing to feign ignorance, I lower myself into a deep, dramatic bow.
  18. plaque
    a tablet that commemorates a person or achievement
    But he’s pointing at one particular plaque, engraved with names and graduation dates.
  19. derogatory
    expressive of low opinion
    I’ve told Kirby and Mara I don’t really read them anymore, but McNair brings up my romance novels whenever he can. His derogatory tone is the reason I keep them to myself these days.
  20. adrenaline
    hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress
    I hope the walk to class is enough to get my blood flowing normally again. My adrenaline always works overtime when I’m talking to McNair.
  21. contempt
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    Then he makes a shooing motion with one hand, snapping me out of my nostalgia and replacing it with the contempt that’s been both a warm blanket and a bed of nails.
  22. accrue
    grow by addition
    Please either renew them or return them to the library immediately to avoid accruing a fine.
  23. camaraderie
    the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability
    Our homerooms are mixed to foster camaraderie between the grades.
  24. rampant
    occurring or increasing in an unrestrained way
    It wasn’t the worst idea, I guess, if you ignored every single one of our other, more pressing issues: rampant plagiarism among the freshman class, the need for an expanded cafeteria menu to accommodate dietary restrictions, reducing our carbon footprint.
  25. superlative
    an exaggerated expression, usually of praise
    For the senior superlatives, the photo editor made McNair and me pose with our backs pressed up against each other, our arms crossed. Above us are the words MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED.
  26. intervention
    the act of getting involved
    She holds up her WHS gym T-shirt. We had to stage an intervention to get her to wash it sophomore year because she kept forgetting to bring it home.
  27. waive
    do without or cease to hold or adhere to
    “Sophomore gym was a special kind of torture,” I say. “I can’t believe they wouldn’t let us waive it.”
  28. suitor
    a man who courts a woman
    “You’ve got three months to find a worthy suitor.”
  29. tchotchke
    an inexpensive showy trinket
    Kirby tosses her gym shirt and some other tchotchkes into a nearby trash can.
  30. virtually
    slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
    We trade fist bumps with Lily Gulati, high fives with Derek Price, and whistles with the Kristens (Tanaka and Williams, best friends since the first day of freshman year and virtually inseparable ever since).
  31. extricate
    release from entanglement or difficulty
    While Mara uploads an Instagram video of Kirby extricating an eight-foot-long scarf from her locker, complete with creepy horror-movie soundtrack, I reach into my backpack for my journal.
  32. allocate
    distribute according to a plan or set apart for a purpose
    We’d been trying to reach a conclusion about allocating funds for the upcoming year.
  33. relish
    derive or receive pleasure from
    I relish the applause and the small but not insignificant joy of my name being uttered before his.
  34. chivalry
    courtesy towards women
    McNair pulls back the velvet stage curtain and gestures for me to step through first. Normally I’d call him out for this—chivalry is outdated and I am not a fan—but today I just roll my eyes.
  35. latter
    the second of two or the second mentioned of two
    It stings when McNair wins not just for English but for French and Spanish, too, the latter of which makes me a little salty.
  36. legacy
    anything handed down by someone or something in the past
    "...We now compost and have a trash sorting system, thanks to Rowan.”
    I wish she hadn’t concluded with that. My legacy: garbage.
  37. prominent
    conspicuous in position or importance
    “Artoo,” McNair whispers as Principal Meadows goes on about prominent valedictorians in our school’s history and what they’ve accomplished, rounding out his earlier lesson.
  38. contemplative
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    I glance up from my notebook, though of course it’s McNair, ruining my period of contemplative self-doubt, as though he hadn’t already ruined everything else.
  39. formidable
    extremely impressive in strength or excellence
    “I meant what I said earlier. About competing with you all these years. You’ve been a truly formidable opponent.” Only Neil McNair would say something like “formidable opponent.”
  40. spar
    fight verbally
    His eyebrows crease together. It’s an expression I’ve never seen on his face, not in the four years I’ve sparred with him.
Created on Tue Jan 02 12:31:23 EST 2024 (updated Tue Jan 02 17:47:18 EST 2024)

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.