Nombres by Julia Alvarez

declare (Paragraph 1)

— State or announce officially, especially to customs or immigration officials ("if he had anything to declare").

trilling (Paragraph 1)

— Pronouncing a consonant (like the Spanish r) with a rapid vibration of the tongue ("trilling my tongue for the drumroll of the r").

cooing (Paragraph 6)

— Speaking or murmuring softly and affectionately ("Mami and some other new mothers were cooing over their new baby sons and daughters").

reveal (Paragraph 6)

— Make known or uncover something previously kept hidden ("embarrassed… to reveal the rich, noisy name of Mauricia").

rattling [off] (Paragraph 9)

— Saying or reciting something rapidly and effortlessly ("rattling off my full name").

pursue (Paragraph 4)

— Saying or reciting something rapidly and effortlessly ("rattling off my full name").

trace (Paragraph 4)

— Track down or connect back to an origin ("Who would ever trace her to me?").

transport (Paragraph 6)

— Carry or move from one place to another ("What an awful name to have to transport across borders!").

ushered [in] (Paragraph 8)

— Introduced or marked the beginning of a new era or trend ("before the sixties ushered in peasant blouses, hoop earrings, serapes").

faded (Paragraph 8)

— Gradually grew weaker or disappeared ("My initial desire to be known by my correct Dominican name faded").

merge (Paragraph 8)

— Blend or combine seamlessly into a group ("merge with the Sallys and the Janes in my class").

forbade (Paragraph 4)

— Strictly ordered someone not to do something ("troublemaking friends my mother forbade me to hang out with").

pitied (Paragraph 6)

— Felt deep sorrow or sympathy for someone’s struggle ("I pitied her").

burned (Paragraph 8)

— Felt an intense, stinging emotion ("I burned with shame").

singled [out] (Paragraph 8)

— Chose or pointed out one person from a group, causing self-consciousness ("whenever they singled me out as a 'foreigner'").

recalled (Paragraph 13)

— Chose or pointed out one person from a group, causing self-consciousness ("whenever they singled me out as a 'foreigner'").

predicted (Paragraph 16)

— Stated what would happen in the future ("Someday, the family predicted, my name would be well-known").