Bridge to Terabithia: Chapters 11–13

by Katherine Paterson
Jess and Leslie spend their free time playing in the fantasy land of Terabithia; but when tragedy strikes, one of them will have to learn to cope with loss in the real world.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–5, Chapters 6–7, Chapters 8–10, Chapters 11–13
30 words 1804 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. downcast
    directed toward a lower place
    Finally his father spoke, his big rough hand stroking his wife’s hair and his eyes downcast watching the motion.
  2. relentless
    never-ceasing
    His father went quietly and relentlessly on.
  3. swerve
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    An approaching car beeped and swerved and beeped again, but he hardly noticed.
  4. hurtle
    move with or as if with a rushing sound
    Somehow it was the one thing in all Washington that Leslie had never seen, and so he could tell her about it, describing the tiny beasts hurtling to destruction.
  5. dredge up
    bring to mind something unpleasant from the past
    He put his mind to remembering the day in Washington, working on details of pictures and statues, dredging up the sound of Miss Edmunds’ voice, recalling his own exact words and her exact answers.
  6. recall
    bring to mind
    He put his mind to remembering the day in Washington, working on details of pictures and statues, dredging up the sound of Miss Edmunds’ voice, recalling his own exact words and her exact answers.
  7. sensation
    an awareness of some type of stimulation
    Occasionally into the corner of his mind’s vision would come a sensation of falling, but he pushed it away with the view of another picture or the sound of another conversation.
  8. douse
    wet thoroughly
    He doused them with syrup and began to eat.
  9. sow
    an adult female hog
    “Well, it don’t seem right for him to be sitting there eating like a brood sow.”
  10. mushy
    very sentimental or emotional
    Bill didn’t sound like himself. He sounded like someone in an old mushy movie.
  11. cremate
    reduce to ashes
    Cremated. Something clicked inside Jess’s head. That meant Leslie was gone. Turned to ashes.
  12. stranded
    cut off or left behind
    She had made him leave his old self behind and come into her world, and then before he was really at home in it but too late to go back, she had left him stranded there—like an astronaut wandering about on the moon. Alone.
  13. whimper
    cry weakly or softly
    From the couch Brenda, too, was complaining, but the only sound that really entered his head was that of May Belle whimpering.
  14. frayed
    worn away or tattered along the edges
    Above from the crab apple tree the frayed end of the rope swung gently.
  15. piteous
    deserving or inciting a feeling of sympathy and sorrow
    P.T. was left crying piteously on the other side.
  16. evidence
    an indication that makes something apparent
    It was dark and damp, but there was no evidence there to suggest that the queen had died.
  17. flare
    erupt or intensify suddenly
    The anger which had possessed him yesterday flared up again.
  18. constrict
    squeeze or push together
    The coldness inside of him had moved upward into his throat constricting it.
  19. leisurely
    not hurried or forced
    The bird hopped about a moment more, then flew leisurely away.
  20. procession
    the action of a group moving ahead in regular formation
    He walked slowly, as part of a great procession, though only the puppy could be seen, slowly forward carrying the queen’s wreath to the sacred grove.
  21. commend
    give to in charge
    “Father, into Thy hands I commend her spirit.”
  22. chaos
    a state of extreme confusion and disorder
    Like a single bird across a storm-cloud sky, a tiny peace winged its way through the chaos inside his body.
  23. profit
    derive a benefit from
    He was suddenly ashamed that he’d thought he might be regarded with respect by the other kids. Trying to profit for himself from Leslie’s death.
  24. traitorous
    having the character of, or characteristic of, a betrayer
    And even he himself had entertained the traitorous thought that now he would be the fastest.
  25. sincere
    open and genuine; not deceitful
    “I just want to give you my sincere sympathy.”
  26. grateful
    feeling or showing thankfulness
    “It—it—we—I never had such a student. In all my years of teaching. I shall always be grateful—"
  27. fragile
    easily broken or damaged or destroyed
    For hadn’t Leslie, even in Terabithia, tried to push back the walls of his mind and make him see beyond to the shining world—huge and terrible and beautiful and very fragile? (Handle with care—everything—even the predators.)
  28. plead
    appeal or request earnestly
    “But”—he looked at Jess and his eyes were those of a pleading little boy—“but I can’t seem to give him up.”
  29. emphasis
    intensity or forcefulness of expression
    “I swear on the Bible I won’t tell nobody. Not Billy Jean, not Joyce Ann, not Momma—” She was jerking her head back and forth in solemn emphasis.
  30. rumor
    gossip passed around by word of mouth
    There’s a rumor going around that the beautiful girl arriving today might be the queen they’ve been waiting for.
Created on Sun Apr 14 14:07:42 EDT 2013 (updated Wed Jul 06 15:27:43 EDT 2022)

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