Vocabulary Chapters 15-20

Nonchalantly: cooly unconcerned

• "My driver, a chain-smoking, sweaty little man who introduced himself as Gholam, drove nonchalantly and recklessly, averting collisions by the thinnest of margins, all without so much as a pause..." p. 195
• The boys nonchalantly looked at the crowd of girls running toward them.
• Synonyms: casually, indifferently
• Antonyms: -

Incessant: continuing without interruption

"My driver, a chain-smoking, sweaty little man who introduced himself as Gholam, drove nonchalantly and recklessly, averting collisions by the thinnest of margins, all without so much as a pause in the incessant stream of words spewing from his mouth:..." p. 195

The gymnast took several incessant runs to prepare for her competition this weekend.

Synonyms: nonstop, continuing, constant

Antonyms: occasional, interrupted, stopping

Garrulous: excessively talkative

• "A little past the redbrick buildings of Peshawar University, we entered an area my garrulous driver referred to as 'Afghan Town.'"
• When I am nervous, I become very garrulous.
• Synonyms: mouthy, effusive
• Antonyms: mum, still, silent, reserved

Collateral: security pledged for the payment of a loan 

• "'Collateral damage,' Rahim Khan said." p. 200
• A lot of businesses go through collateral damage.
• Synonyms: accessory, incident,
• Antonyms: different, dissimilar

Melancholic: gloomy

• "We're melancholic people, we Afghans, aren't we?" p. 201
• When someone goes through a divorce they usually become very melancholic.
• Synonyms: gloomy, wistful
• Antonyms: cheerful, happy

Wallow: to roll about or lie in water

• "Often, we wallow too much in ghamkhori and self-pity." p. 201
• When something bad happens in your life, you can either wallow or move on quickly.
• Synonyms: lurch, totter
• Antonyms: steady, 

Pragmatic: of or pertaining to a practical point of view

• "But I am not surrendering to fate here, I am being pragmatic." p. 201
• The pragmatic solution isn't always the easiest one. 
• Synonyms: logical, realistic
• Antonyms: irrational, inefficient

Presumptuous: full of it

• "It was presumptuous of me to just show up and ask you to drop everything." p. 207
• The presumptuous athlete walked down the halls of the high school with his head up high.
• Synonyms: arrogant, overconfident
• Antonyms: modest, humble

Proverbial: characteristics of a proverb; traditional

• "Kabul in those days, Amir jan, was as close as you could get to proverbial hell on earth." p. 212
• Most cultures have proverbial way of doing things, others don't.
• Synonyms: customary, legendary, accepted
• Antonyms: abnormal, different

Oblivion: the state of being completely forgotten or unknown

• "I wished he had let me live on in my oblivion." p. 226
• The new girl in school was sitting in oblivion, wishing she could go back home.
• Synonyms: disregard, neglect
• Antonyms: respect, awareness, understanding

Empathy: vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of another

• "There was no empathy in his eyes." p. 228
• The teacher gave no empathy to the student who wasn't ready to present.
• Synonyms: pity, sympathy
• Antonyms: hatred, apathy

Animosity: a feeling of strong dislike

• "Farid gave me another dismissive look, this one with a hint of barely suppressed animosity, and went back to smoking his cigarette." p. 228
• Some people, especially Democrats, have animosity toward Gay Rights.
• Synonyms: resentment, displeasure
• Antonyms: like, support

Surly: bad tempered; unfriendly, hostile

• "His tone bordered on the surly." p. 229
• By the end of the winter in Maine, most people are very surly. 
• Synonyms: irritable, rude
• Antonyms: cheerful, happy, nice

Rueful: causing sorrow or pity

• (COULDNT FIND)
• The death of her grandmother made her very rueful.
• Synonyms: mournful, sad
• Antonyms: happy

Deliberate: carefully considered

• "I was afraid I'd deliberate, ruminate, agonize, rationalize, and talk myself into not going." p. 231
• In high school, I deliberate each decision I make, because they are so vital to my future.
• Synonyms: careful, cautious
• Antonyms: careless, unmindful

Ruminate: to think about seriously

•  "I was afraid I'd deliberate, ruminate, agonize, rationalize, and talk myself into not going." p. 231
• By next year, I need to sit down and ruminate with my parents about college.
• Synonyms: brainstorm, ponder
• Antonyms: ignore, neglect

Contemptuous: arrogant, iscolent

• "Farid said, speaking to Wahid but fixing me with a contemptuous gaze." p. 236
• I wasn't paying attention in class when the teacher called on me, she gave me a contemptuous glare.
• Synonyms: snobbish, sneerful
• Antonyms: flattering, praising

Furtive: sneaky, secretive

• "...stealing furtive glances at my digital wristwatch." p. 238
• There was one cookie left, and I used furtive skills to snatch it from the kitchen
• Synonyms: creepy, crafty
• Antonyms: open, honest, truthful

Morosely: unhappily

• "'Welcome back,' he said morosely." p. 244
• The girl sat at home with her family morosely, while her friends had fun at the mall.
• Synonyms: gloomily, joylessly
• Antonyms: happily

Benevolence: charity

• "'A word of thanks for your benevolence, Agha sahib.'" p. 248
• It feels so good to contribute to benevolence.
• Synonyms: kindness, compassion
• Antonyms: cruelty, harshness

Profoundly: deeply

• "...'Because I'm so profoundly happy, Dr. Rasul..." p. 250
• I have a profound love for sports.
• Synonyms: greatly, extremely
• Antonyms: incompletely, partially