Darius the Great Is Not Okay

1. dismal (adjective):

hopeless, dreary, displaying or causing gloom

“That way, when I graduated, I could work at an artisanal tea store, instead of one that added the latest superfood extract to whatever dismal fannings the corporate tea blenders could find at the steepest discount.” (Chapter 1, Page 3)

2. vacant (adjective):

empty, deserted

“The air smelled dry and vacant after weeks of rain.” (Chapter 2, Page 10)

3. indiscretions (plural noun):

acts characterized by poor judgment and/or loose morals

“There was no point arguing with Stephen Kellner about dietary indiscretions” (Chapter 3, Page 17)

4. leviathan (noun):

a sea monster or large sea creature

“The largest fish, a leviathan nearly the size of Laleh’s hand, only had its right eye.” (Chapter 4, Page 26)

5.  derelict (adjective):

falling apart or in poor condition, usually due to neglect and/or abandonment

“I knotted the two loose straps together so I could sling the derelict hulk of my backpack over my shoulder like a satchel, gathered my stuff up, and hurried to gym.” (Chapter 6, Page 36)

6. sacrosanct (adjective):

sacred and therefore not subject to criticism or change

“And when I did see [Dad], it was usually for dinner, when Mom or Laleh were around to provide a buffer, or for Star Trek, which was sacrosanct.” (Chapter 7, Page 41)

7. ominous (adjective):

indicative that something bad is about to happen; threatening or forbidding

“[The pimple] was glowing red and ominous between my eyebrows like the Eye of Sauron, lidless and wreathed in flame.” (Chapter 8, Page 49)

8. incendiary (noun):

literally, combustible or flammable; figuratively, tending to stir up excitement, anger, etc.

“Laleh had acquired a bag of Sour Patch Kids while she browsed Terminal 4, and the combination of sugar and temporal distortion proved an incendiary one.” (Chapter 9, Page 55)

9. resplendent (adjective):

shining brightly; magnificent or glorious in appearance

“Unlike Customs Officer I, Customs Officer II did have the full and resplendent beard of a True Persian.” (Chapter 10, Page 67)

10. discrete (adjective):

separate, individually distinct

“My uncle had two discrete eyebrows—not a single connecting hair between them—which was deeply reassuring, because I had always worried about growing a Persian Unibrow.” (Chapter 11, Pages 77-78)

11. inane (adjective):

silly, pointless, or lacking in significance

“And then I realized that was quite possibly the most inane greeting in the history of American-Iranian relations.” (Chapter 12, Page 86)

12. invoking (verb):

citing or referencing something as decisive, authoritative, etc.

“And invoking my being a guest was one of the strongest strategies you could employ in taarof.” (Chapter 14, Page 105)

13. vendetta (noun):

a longstanding grudge or feud, usually with the implication that one is seeking revenge for something

“It seemed I had misread the situation between Sohrab and Ali-Reza, who had acted like friends, but were clearly engaged in some sort of personal vendetta that could only be settled through soccer/non-American football.” (Chapter 14, Page 108)

14. hyperbole (noun):

exaggeration, overstatement

“The one time I [said I wanted to die]—and it was only hyperbole—Dad freaked out and threatened to send me to a hospital.” (Chapter 15, Page 116)

15. excrete (verb):

get rid of or expel something (usually waste) from the body

“[Dr. Howell] says [crying] helps the body excrete stress hormones.” (Chapter 16, Page 118)

16. delegated (past tense verb):

assigned or entrusted someone with a task or duty

“Sohrab had pants on, so I couldn’t tell if he pulled his socks all the way up—which was the fashion back home, if you were a Soulless Minion of Orthodoxy—or if he folded them over, like Dad used to do when he mowed the yard, before he delegated that duty to me.” (Chapter 17, Page 128)

17. primordial (adjective):

existing at or from the beginning (of the world, time, etc.)

“[Fesenjoon] looks like the sort of primordial goo that could generate amino acids, which would inevitably combine to initiate protein synthesis and create brand new life forms.” (Chapter 18, Page 134)

18. categorically (adverb):

 in all circumstances and without exceptions

“As soon as I said [I didn’t fit in], I glanced at Dad, because Stephen Kellner was categorically opposed to self-pity” (Chapter 18, Page 135)

19. evasive (adjective):

intended to avoid detection or aid in escape

“The streets were still mostly empty as we merged onto the highway, but Babou drove as if he was dodging enemy fire, pulling off one evasive maneuver after another.” (Chapter 19, Page 150)

20. spindly (adjective):

long, skinny, and weak

“Behind the lamassu, more columns sprouted from the ground like ancient trees in a petrified forest, forty feet tall, spindly but still miraculously upright.” (Chapter 19, Page 153)

21. ostentatious (adjective):

showy, intended to impress or attract attention

“The only thing worse than being perpetually underdressed was being garishly overdressed. Then everyone would whisper behind our backs (in Farsi, of course), about how ostentatious we were.” (Chapter 21, Page 170)

22. imploded (past tense verb):

collapsed in on itself

“My chest imploded.” (Chapter 22, Page 186)

23. concurring (verb):

agreeing

“Mamou found us like that, laughing at the television, me reading my book and concurring with my sister when necessary.” (Chapter 24, Page 204)

24. mercurial (adjective):

changeable, lively, animated

“[Mahvash Rezaei’s] personality was too big and mercurial to be contained in a frail human body.” (Chapter 24, Page 207)

25. diaspora (noun):

the scattering of a group outside its homeland, or the people collectively living away from their homeland

“We listened to the voice in the speakers chant, and I imagined everyone in the Jameh Mosque kneeling to pray, and all the people in Yazd heeding the call, and even farther out, a neural network spread throughout the entire country and to the Iranian diaspora across the whole planet.” (Chapter 25, Page 220)

26. undulating (adjective):

moving or flowing in waves

“I sat in the back and tried not to throw up as Stephen Kellner navigated the undulating roads at unsafe velocities.” (Chapter 27, Pages 227)

27. clambered (past tense verb):

climbed, usually awkwardly or with difficulty

“For a moment I wondered if [Babou] needed help, but then I remembered how he had clambered over the roof to water his fig trees.” (Chapter 27, Page 228)

28. notorious (adjective):

famous, usually for something bad or dark

“[The episode is] also notorious for Captain Picard’s vacation attire: extremely short silver swim trunks that only a Frenchman could pull off.” (Chapter 28, Page 238)

29. dappled (adjective):

covered in spots

“We walked in the dappled shade, enjoying the mist blown off the burbling fountains.” (Chapter 29, Page 242)

30. insinuated (past tense verb):

slowly and/or stealthily inserted

“[Sohrab] ran into the pack and insinuated himself onto the younger team.” (Chapter 30, Page 247)

31. contentious (adjective):

prone to argue or disagree

“Klingons could be notoriously contentious when it came to their food.” (Chapter 31, Page 258)

32. epitome (noun):

a perfect or typical example of something

“Ali-Reza had been a complete jerk to me—the epitome of a Soulless Minion of Orthodoxy—but I still felt bad for him.” (Chapter 32, Page 263)

33. chalice (verb):

a large and often ornate or ceremonial cup

“A tinted glass portal separated us from the inner sanctum, where a giant bronze chalice held the ancient fire.” (Chapter 33, Page 271)

34. cohesion (noun):

the state or act of sticking together as part of a unified whole

“I shook so hard, I thought the bathroom was going to lose molecular cohesion and collapse into a vibrating pile of dust.” (Chapter 35, Page 281)

35. annihilated (past tense verb):

completely wiped out or destroyed

“My chest was about to explode, hurling matter and antimatter until they annihilated everything nearby.” (Chapter 35, Page 283)