Vocabulary Unit 9

Question 1

allocate

Answer 1

(v) to set apart or designate for a special purpose; to distribute

Zayneb allocates some of her part time salary to go towards the masjid.

Question 2

ardent

Answer 2

(adj) very enthusiastic, impassioned

While Zayneb is an ardent Human Rights Lawyer, her fiancé Adam is passionate about projects.

Question 3

assiduous

Answer 3

(adj) persistent, attentive, diligent

Unfortunately, Adam was not assiduous enough to notice that Zayneb was lying to him about her living situation.

Question 4

brash

Answer 4

(adj) prone to act in a hasty manner; impudent

Adam’s sudden decision to change their Thanksgiving vacation plan to Umrah was one that seemed brash to Zayneb.

Question 5

capricious

Answer 5

(adj) subject to whims or passing fancies

Instead of calling his son capricious for his career choice, Adam’s father understood Adam’s decision to drop out of college and supported it wholeheartedly.

Question 6

chastise

Answer 6

(v) to inflict physical punishment as a means of correction; to scold severely

Adam was lucky to have parents that would not chastise his decision to be a full-time artist, instead nurturing his passion.

Question 7

copious

Answer 7

(adj) abundant, plentiful

Zayneb knew that Lars had had a copious amount of alcohol, which was why he seemed so unhinged and unfiltered before her.

Question 8

deviate

Answer 8

(v) to turn aside

Adam chose to deviate from the normal, cookie-cutter path of other immigrant children, choosing to forge his own.

Question 9

emaciated

Answer 9

unnaturally thin

Why hadn’t Adam noticed how worn an emaciated Zayneb had grown over their months apart?

Question 10

exult

Answer 10

rejoice

Zayneb was internally exulting at the mere thought of seeing Adam again after so many months apart.

Question 11

gnarled

Answer 11

knotted, twisty, lumpy

Something about the idea of telling Adam or her family the truth made her stomach feel gnarled, as though it had been twisted.

Question 12

indemnity

Answer 12

a payment for damage or loss

If fifteen-year-old Zayneb had backed into that car, she could be sure that her parents would have made her pay the indemnity in full, without sparing a single penny.

Question 13

inkling

Answer 13

a vague notion

Adam was beginning to get an inkling that something was wrong when Zayneb didn’t respond to his call with a frantic text or some kind of explanation.

Question 14

limpid

Answer 14

clear

It was limpid to Sadia that her sister needed her assistance, and Sadia was going to stick up for Zayneb no matter what.

Question 15

omnipotent

Answer 15

almighty

The universal message of the Quran was that Allah SWT was omnipotent and all-knowing, and nothing could be hidden from him for long.

Question 16

palatable

Answer 16

agreeable to the taste

Zayneb and Murie’s taste in cuisine was rather palatable, which is why dining together was so enjoyable!

Question 17

poignant

Answer 17

deeply affecting

Adam’s goose necklace might have come across as silly, but Zayneb found it rather poignant and expressive of his emotions for her.

Question 18

rancor

Answer 18

bitter resentment

Lars possessed an inexplicable rancor for people from other walks of life, considering them to be less than the white alpha male.

Question 19

sophomoric

Answer 19

immature and overconfident

Sometimes, Zayneb found her peers’ behavior to be sophomoric in that they only wanted to succeed to be better than the next person.

Question 20

spontaneous

Answer 20

arising naturally

Meeting Zayneb had taught Adam one thing, and that was that love is spontaneous, and no amount of planning could ever prepare anyone for it.