Impossible Creatures: List 5

by Katherine Rundell
Two kids — Mal and Christopher — unite to save the magical islands of the Archipelago, full of mythical creatures. On the way, each learns who they are and their destiny in life.

This list covers vocabulary from "The Island of Murderers"—"What She Said."

Here arHere are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
15 words 47 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cauldron
    a very large pot that is used for boiling
    There, in the center of the trees, bending over a cauldron on a fire, was the centaur.
  2. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    As he spoke, he added a handful of leaves to the cauldron, and a bitter, acrid scent rose from it.
  3. untrammeled
    not confined or limited
    They reached the boundaries of the island’s water, and the centaur stiffened, but the Ever Onward moved swiftly past, untrammeled by the island’s enchantment.
  4. stamina
    enduring strength and energy
    “They fly to nearby islands to get food. They lack stamina — they can’t go far — but they’re fast. We have to go past them to get where we’re going...."
  5. maelstrom
    a powerful circular current of water
    "...We could go the long way, back round the cape of Lithia, but with the wind against us, and maelstroms along the Northern Shoals, it would take weeks.”
  6. oracular
    of or relating to prophecy or someone who tells the future
    “It’s not something I advertise. There’s people who’d treat me as some oracular kind of mystic; and others would be afraid of what I might do, and their fear is dangerous to me. So I keep it quiet and stay out of the water when people are around.”
  7. chasm
    a deep opening in the earth's surface
    He could hear only half of what she said. “Left, and…left, and left, and over the chasm in the ground. And right, and left, and straight, and right…”
  8. parabola
    a symmetrical, approximately U-shaped curve
    The rope creaked. Christopher swung in a long, fevered parabola and landed on hands and knees on the other side of the abyss.
  9. abyss
    a bottomless gulf or pit
    The rope creaked. Christopher swung in a long, fevered parabola and landed on hands and knees on the other side of the abyss.
  10. labyrinth
    complex system of paths in which it is easy to get lost
    The dirt beneath his feet was interrupted by something: stones, or bones. Keeping his left hand on the wall, he bent, picked one up, tried to feel the edge — but curiosity failed, and he let it fall. It clattered, in the dark, and an animal cry from somewhere in the labyrinth went up.
  11. exultation
    a feeling of extreme joy
    Even if what was in that room killed him, he had walked the labyrinth. Unseen, unheralded; and he might die yet, and nobody would know: but even if no witnesses ever told it, it was still true. He felt a wild exultation as he stepped into the cavern.
  12. arboretum
    a facility where trees and shrubs are cultivated
    “Who is this in my arboretum?”
  13. singe
    burn superficially or lightly
    Christopher had not understood, until then, what is truly meant by fire. It was a fireball, an explosion of blue-red, and the heat of it singed the tips of his hair and scorched his eyes, so that both he and Mal had to cover their faces.
  14. unscathed
    not injured
    Sforza stood unscathed. He smiled; a gleeful smile.
  15. fealty
    the loyalty that one owes to a country, sovereign, or lord
    It was Ratwin.
    He yelled, and she dismounted from his head and dipped her nose to his hand in fealty.
Created on Fri May 30 17:36:33 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Sep 30 20:09:51 EDT 2025)

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