Because of Winn-Dixie: Chapters 10–18

by Kate DiCamillo
While shopping for groceries, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni finds a dog that will change her life.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–18, Chapters 19–26

Here are links to our lists for other books by Kate DiCamillo: The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Flora & Ulysses, Raymie Nightingale, Louisiana's Way Home
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. whine
    make a high-pitched, screeching noise
    It was Winn-Dixie, whining and butting his head against my bedroom door.
  2. whimper
    cry weakly or softly
    He just kept beating his head against the door and whining and whimpering
  3. tremble
    move quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
    when I got out of bed and went over and put my hand on his head, he was shaking and trembling so hard that it scared me.
  4. terrorize
    frighten greatly
    There didn’t seem to be a thing we could do for Winn-Dixie to make him feel better, so we just sat there and watched him run back and forth, all terrorized and panting.
  5. creep
    go stealthily or furtively
    And then he crept up on the couch with us in this funny way he has
  6. intend
    have in mind as a purpose
    he gets on the couch an inch at a time, kind of sliding himself onto it, looking off in a different direction, like it’s all happening by accident, like he doesn’t intend to get on the couch, but all of a sudden, there he is.
  7. slither
    pass or move unobtrusively or smoothly
    The rabbits started hopping and the birds started flying and the lizards started leaping and the snakes started slithering and Winn-Dixie started barking and chasing everything that was moving, and Otis shouted, “Help me!”
  8. trailer
    a wheeled vehicle that can be pulled by a car or truck
    we would leave the trailer early in the morning and get down to Gertrude’s Pets in time to hear Otis play his guitar music for the animals.
  9. ignorant
    uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
    “Because they’re ignorant,” I told her.
  10. matter
    have importance or weight
    “They still think you’re a witch. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell them you’re not.”
  11. imitate
    reproduce someone's behavior or looks
    Or I imitated Otis tapping his pointy-toed boots and playing for all the animals, and that always made her laugh.
  12. harsh
    unkind or cruel or uncivil
    “And them Dewberry boys, you try not to judge them too harsh either, all right?”
  13. comfort
    give moral or emotional strength to
    I wondered who comforted her when she heard those bottles knocking together, those ghosts chattering about the things she had done wrong.
  14. enlist
    join the military
    His daddy, Artley W. Block, had already enlisted, and Littmus told his mama that he could not stand by and let the South get beat, and so he went to fight, too.
  15. abiding
    unceasing
    They are always looking for a reason to go to war. It is the saddest thing. They have this abiding notion that war is fun.
  16. vermin
    any of various small animals or insects that are pests
    And he was covered with all manner of vermin; fleas and lice.
  17. typhoid
    infection marked by intestinal inflammation and ulceration
    “Dead. Dead of typhoid fever.”
  18. affair
    a matter or concern
    Littmus W. Block figured the world was a sorry affair and that it had enough ugly things in it
  19. concentrate
    direct one's attention on something
    what he was going to do was concentrate on putting something sweet in it.
  20. appetite
    a feeling of craving something
    The world, it seems, lost its appetite for Littmus Lozenges.
  21. sorrowful
    experiencing or marked by or expressing sadness
    It tastes sorrowful but sweet.
  22. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    He was hunching up his shoulders and lowering his chin and getting ready to pull his head inside his shell.
  23. melancholy
    characterized by or causing or expressing sadness
    “It almost tastes a little melancholy,” he said.
  24. tragedy
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
    Other people’s tragedies should not be the subject of idle conversation.
  25. idle
    silly or trivial
    “Other people’s tragedies should not be the subject of idle conversation. There was no reason for me to tell you.”
Created on Fri May 27 20:07:11 EDT 2016 (updated Wed Mar 06 09:22:43 EST 2019)

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