Impossible Creatures: List 4

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 Man Who Said No"—"The Heat of Living Gold."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
15 words 67 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. millennium
    a span of 1000 years
    “But as the millennia passed by, it became clear there was a risk.
  2. charlatan
    a flamboyant deceiver
    “Every few centuries, some charlatan, some crawling, vicious soul, would try to get close to the Glimourie Tree — to steal it, to take it for their own. To conjure the greatest magic, to command a power beyond human power. It was a constant battle to keep it safe.”
  3. tenacity
    persistent determination
    “So many hundreds of years later, the Immortal — by that time a man named Ahmed Telos, a slow-voiced, gentle man of great tenacity and care — built a maze around the tree...."
  4. fortification
    a defensive structure
    Leonardo, together with his cousin Enzo da Vinci, the finest stonemason in the world, were hailed as the greatest architects of their day; experts in the building of the most sophisticated fortifications and city walls.
  5. loathe
    dislike intensely; feel disgust toward
    Naravirala went on, slow and clear and heavy voiced: “As Marik grew to be an adult, he grew more and more furious at his fate; at what he was. He loathed the Immortal knowledge that had been laid on him. He loathed that he could forget nothing.
  6. renounce
    give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors
    “He told his family that he was renouncing his gift.”
  7. antidote
    a remedy that stops or controls the effects of a poison
    “Can it be undone?” said Christopher.
    “It is possible. There is an antidote to the potion, as there is to all potions.”
  8. vulnerable
    susceptible to attack
    “Without the protection, the knowledge, the watchful and iron-willed care of the Immortal, the Archipelago is vulnerable.”
  9. obsessed
    having excessive or compulsive concern with something
    “Everyone’s obsessed with the Immortal! Immortal this, Immortal that. Believe me, I would know if I was immortal.”
  10. delusion
    an erroneous belief held in the face of contrary evidence
    He coughed, wet and raw. “But he told me, no. It had to be done. He told me, hope is another word for delusion.”
  11. inscrutable
    difficult or impossible to understand
    It was Anja. She wore navy silk riding clothes, and sapphires, and an expression as inscrutable as the sea.
  12. repulsion
    intense aversion
    There was a twitch in the woman’s eyes; whether repulsion or fear or guilt, or some bleak mixture of the three, Christopher couldn’t tell.
  13. sonorous
    full and loud and deep
    “Welcome,” he said, his voice deep and sonorous, “to the Island of the Immortal.”
  14. rapier
    a straight sword with a narrow blade and two edges
    Its horn was black and pointed at the tip like a rapier.
  15. insolent
    marked by casual disrespect
    The creature sniffed. It let its tongue loll out and its nostrils widen. It was insolent.
Created on Thu May 29 22:03:16 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Sep 30 20:09:38 EDT 2025)

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.