The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: Chapters 1–7

by Kate DiCamillo
The title character of this novel is a china rabbit that travels through many hands. Learn the words that award-winning author Kate DiCamillo used to bring Edward Tulane to life.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–14, Chapters 15–21, Chapter 22–Coda

Here are links to our lists for other works by Kate DiCamillo: Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, Flora & Ulysses, Raymie Nightingale, Louisiana's Way Home
40 words 1830 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. torso
    the body excluding the head and neck and limbs
    He had china arms and china legs, china paws and a china head, a china torso and a china nose.
  2. jaunty
    having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
    His ears were made of real rabbit fur, and beneath the fur, there were strong, bendable wires, which allowed the ears to be arranged into poses that reflected the rabbit’s mood—jaunty, tired, full of ennui.
  3. ennui
    the feeling of being bored by something tedious
    His ears were made of real rabbit fur, and beneath the fur, there were strong, bendable wires, which allowed the ears to be arranged into poses that reflected the rabbit’s mood—jaunty, tired, full of ennui.
  4. exceptional
    surpassing what is common or usual or expected
    In all, Edward Tulane felt himself to be an exceptional specimen.
  5. elegant
    refined and tasteful in appearance, behavior, or style
    They were long and elegant (as they should be), but they were of uncertain origin.
  6. initially
    at the beginning
    Whom the whiskers had belonged to initially—what unsavory animal—was a question that Edward could not bear to consider for too long.
  7. unsavory
    morally offensive
    Whom the whiskers had belonged to initially—what unsavory animal—was a question that Edward could not bear to consider for too long.
  8. equipped
    provided or fitted out with what is necessary or useful
    The china rabbit was in possession of an extraordinary wardrobe composed of handmade silk suits, custom shoes fashioned from the finest leather and designed specifically for his rabbit feet, and a wide array of hats equipped with holes so that they could easily fit over Edward’s large and expressive ears.
  9. duration
    the period of time during which something continues
    True, Edward’s ears barely cleared the tabletop, and true also, he spent the duration of the meal staring straight ahead at nothing but the bright and blinding white of the tablecloth.
  10. courtesy
    a considerate and respectful manner
    Edward pretended, out of courtesy to Abilene, to listen.
  11. condescending
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    And also, he did not care for Abilene’s parents and their condescending manner toward him.
  12. commission
    place an order for
    It was she who had commissioned his making, she who had ordered his silk suits and his pocket watch, his jaunty hats and his bendable ears, his fine leather shoes and his jointed arms and legs, all from a master craftsman in her native France.
  13. brindled
    having a gray or brown streak or a patchy coloring
    Once, while Abilene was at school, the neighbor’s dog, a male brindled boxer inexplicably named Rosie, came into the house uninvited and unannounced and lifted his leg on the dining-room table, spraying the white table cloth with urine.
  14. inexplicable
    incapable of being explained or accounted for
    Once, while Abilene was at school, the neighbor’s dog, a male brindled boxer inexplicably named Rosie, came into the house uninvited and unannounced and lifted his leg on the dining-room table, spraying the white table cloth with urine.
  15. implication
    a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred
    He then trotted over and sniffed Edward, and before Edward even had time to consider the implications of being sniffed by a dog, he was in Rosie’s mouth and Rosie was shaking him back and forth vigorously, growling and drooling.
  16. vigorously
    in an energetic manner
    He then trotted over and sniffed Edward, and before Edward even had time to consider the implications of being sniffed by a dog, he was in Rosie’s mouth and Rosie was shaking him back and forth vigorously, growling and drooling.
  17. ego
    an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others
    Edward’s silk suit was stained with drool and his head ached for several days afterward, but it was his ego that had suffered the most damage.
  18. indignity
    an affront to one's self-esteem
    Abilene’s mother had referred to him as “it,” and she was more outraged at the dog urine on her tablecloth than she was about the indignities that Edward had suffered at the jaws of Rosie.
  19. diligence
    conscientiousness in paying proper attention to a task
    And then there was the time that a maid, new to the Tulane household and eager to impress her employers with her diligence, came upon Edward sitting on his chair in the dining room.
  20. derogatory
    expressive of low opinion
    Edward did not care at all for the word bunny. He found it derogatory in the extreme.
  21. brutality
    the trait of extreme cruelty
    She dusted his face with brutality and efficiency.
  22. efficiency
    skillfulness in avoiding wasted time and effort
    She dusted his face with brutality and efficiency.
  23. inconvenience
    cause discomfort to
    It was annoyance that he had been so mightily inconvenienced, that he had been handled by the maid as cavalierly as an inanimate object—a serving bowl, say, or a teapot.
  24. cavalier
    showing a lack of concern or seriousness
    It was annoyance that he had been so mightily inconvenienced, that he had been handled by the maid as cavalierly as an inanimate object—a serving bowl, say, or a teapot.
  25. mocking
    expressing contempt or ridicule
    Edward’s pocket watch was located later, deep within the bowels of the vacuum cleaner, dented, but still in working condition; it was returned to him by Abilene’s father, who presented it with a mocking bow.
  26. excruciating
    extremely painful
    He found the talk around the dinner table excruciatingly dull; in fact, he made a point of not listening if he could help it.
  27. jovial
    full of or showing high-spirited merriment
    “Nonsense,” said Abilene’s father jovially. “Who would protect Abilene if Edward was not there?”
  28. array
    an impressive display or assortment
    He looked upon the glittering array of silverware and glasses and plates.
  29. consequence
    the outcome of an event
    "My father," said the princess, "is a powerful king. You must help me or there will be consequences."
    "Consequences?" said the witch. She looked up from her gold. She stared at the princess. "You dare to talk to me of consequences? Very well, then, we will speak of consequences: tell me the name of the one you love."
  30. gruesome
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    He thought of the princess and how she had become a warthog. How gruesome! How grotesque! What a terrible fate!
  31. agitated
    troubled emotionally and usually deeply
    He was agitated for some reason that he could not name.
  32. singular
    unusual or striking
    “What a singular rabbit,” said an elderly lady with three strings of pearls wrapped around her neck.
  33. dashing
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
    The rabbit was thinking that he must look quite dashing.
  34. aloft
    high up in or into the air
    He held Edward aloft so that Amos could see.
  35. embarrassed
    feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious
    He was completely naked except for the hat on his head, and the other passengers onboard the ship were looking at him, directing curious and embarrassed glances his way.
  36. blithely
    in a joyous, carefree, or unconcerned manner
    Far above him, the ocean liner, with Abilene aboard it, sailed blithely on; and the china rabbit landed, finally, on the ocean floor, face-down; and there, with his head in the muck, he experienced his first genuine and true emotion.
  37. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    On the two hundred and ninety-seventh day of Edward’s ordeal, a storm came.
  38. ferocity
    the property of being aggressive or forceful
    The storm, in its ferocity, actually flung him all the way out of the sea; and the rabbit glimpsed, for a moment, the light of an angry and bruised sky; the wind rushed through his ears.
  39. unbearable
    incapable of being put up with
    The net lifted him higher and higher until there was an almost unbearable explosion of light and Edward was back in the world, lying on the deck of a ship, surrounded by fish.
  40. umbrage
    a feeling of anger caused by being offended
    In fact, Edward Tulane was so happy to be back among the living that he did not even take umbrage at being referred to as “it.”
Created on Tue Aug 22 16:23:16 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Mar 06 09:24:08 EST 2019)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.