Safiyyah's War: Chapters 16–20

by Hiba Noor Khan
This novel is based on the true history of the Grand Mosque of Paris. It follows Safiyyah, a young Muslim girl from Paris, as the Nazi occupation during WWII changes her community forever.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1-8, Chapters 9-15, Chapters 16-20, Chapters 21-29, Chapters 30-37
15 words 7 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. ethereal
    characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
    Moonlight streamed into the hallway from the living room window; on any other night Safiyyah would think it looked ethereal and beautiful, but tonight it just felt eerie.
  2. trundle
    move slowly or heavily
    An image of the army vehicle trundling down his street just ten minutes ago filled Safiyyah’s mind.
  3. forlorn
    marked by or showing hopelessness
    The sight of him, forlorn and alone on the floor, made Safiyyah want to cry.
  4. pillage
    steal goods; take as spoils
    "They pillage anything they see as contrary to Nazism...."
  5. stark
    severely simple
    Safiyyah took a sheet of paper in her hands, feeling its cool, stark smoothness between her fingers.
  6. havoc
    violent and needless disturbance
    The soldiers’ presence felt like a violent tornado, with the capacity to let loose and wreak havoc at any moment.
  7. gait
    a person's manner of walking
    The woman carried a black briefcase and as she walked briskly away from the mosque entrance, her distinctive gait made Safiyyah sure it was her.
  8. trauma
    an emotional wound or shock having long-lasting effects
    She doesn’t need any more worry on her shoulders and I figured you didn’t need a scolding after the trauma you went through.
  9. gallivant
    wander aimlessly in search of pleasure
    Baba continued: "I don’t know where we went wrong with you, honestly. At what point did you start to think that it was acceptable to lie to your parents and teachers and gallivant around without a care?"
  10. brandish
    move or swing back and forth
    Another soldier brandished a black baton.
  11. fathom
    come to understand
    Whatever it was that he’d been hiding, it was far more serious than Safiyyah could have fathomed.
  12. iota
    a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
    You’ve proved incapable of listening and obeying any of my past instructions, but, Safiyyah, if you care even one iota about human life, you will keep your mouth shut.
  13. painstaking
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
    It’s intricate, painstaking and terrifying work, but also the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life.
  14. mortification
    strong feelings of embarrassment
    Her cheeks flushed in mortification as she remembered the cruel things she had said to him earlier in the prayer hall.
  15. refined
    cultivated and genteel
    Her grandmother was always endlessly elegant and refined, softly spoken with a tranquil air about her, and seeing her spit was a shock to Safiyyah’s system.
Created on Wed Oct 22 08:44:26 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Dec 23 10:53:56 EST 2025)

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.