Coraline: Chapters 10–13

by Neil Gaiman
In this dark and creepy novel, a young girl finds a door to another world that is strangely like her own — but filled with danger.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–9, Chapters 10–13

Here is a link to our lists for The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pell-mell
    in a wild or reckless manner
    Then she was simply racing pell-mell down the steps in pursuit of the rat, with no room in her mind for anything else, certain she was gaining on it.
  2. liable
    likely to be or do something
    Coraline wanted to hold on to it like a teddy bear, for reassurance, but she knew that cats hate to be squeezed, and she suspected that frightened cats were liable to bite and scratch if provoked in any way, even if they were on your side.
  3. provoke
    annoy continually or chronically
    Coraline wanted to hold on to it like a teddy bear, for reassurance, but she knew that cats hate to be squeezed, and she suspected that frightened cats were liable to bite and scratch if provoked in any way, even if they were on your side.
  4. flail
    thrash about
    It yowled and landed on the other mother’s head, claws flailing, teeth bared, fierce and angry.
  5. insubstantial
    lacking material form
    The other people in the corridor — three children, two adults — were somehow too insubstantial to touch the door.
  6. infuriate
    make extremely angry
    And then a voice that sounded like her mother’s — her own mother, her real, wonderful, maddening, infuriating, glorious mother — just said, “Well done, Coraline,” and that was enough.
  7. momentum
    an impelling force or strength
    She caught herself before she went down, using her own momentum to keep moving.
  8. wraith
    a ghostly figure, especially one seen shortly before death
    “Almost there,” she called encouragingly, but in the light she discovered that the wraiths had gone, and she was alone.
  9. frilly
    having decorative ruffles or similar ornamentation
    The smallest of them, sitting on Coraline’s left, was a boy with red velvet knee britches and a frilly white shirt.
  10. circlet
    decorated metal band worn around the head
    The winged girl, the circlet in her hair glittering like a star, rested her fingers for a moment on the back of Coraline’s hand.
  11. abundance
    the property of a more than adequate quantity or supply
    “Good fortune and wisdom and courage — although you have already shown that you have all three of these blessings, and in abundance.”
  12. gouge
    an impression in a surface, as made by a blow
    There were deep gouges in the glass on the other side of the window.
  13. dilapidated
    in a state of decay, ruin, or deterioration
    She came out behind the dilapidated old tennis court.
  14. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    That was what she sang as she sauntered through the woods, and her voice hardly trembled at all.
  15. apprehensive
    mentally upset over possible misfortune or danger
    Normally, on the night before the first day of term, Coraline was apprehensive and nervous.
Created on Tue Jun 05 15:45:39 EDT 2018 (updated Wed Jul 30 12:50:16 EDT 2025)

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