To search through a place by moving things around untidily

📝 She had to rummage through her wardrobe to find her old walking boots.

📖 Peter and Mollie loved nothing better than to rummage in the dusty little shop, turning over old lamps and cracked vases in search of hidden treasures.

Very unusual or remarkable; far beyond the ordinary

📝 The young pianist had an extraordinary talent for someone her age.

📖 The most extraordinary thing then happened: bright red wings began to sprout from the four legs of the chair, quite by themselves.

A strong desire to know or learn about something

📝 The kitten watched the moving shadow with lively curiosity.

📖 It was pure curiosity that drew Mollie towards the peculiar carved chair standing in the darkest corner of the shop.

To pause before doing something because you are uncertain

📝 She did not hesitate for a moment before answering the question.

📖 Peter did not hesitate — he counted out the last of his pocket money and told the shopkeeper he would take the chair at once.

To look at something very carefully in order to learn about it

📝 The doctor asked her to examine the small mark on his hand.

📖 The children began to examine every inch of the chair, peering under the seat and running their fingers along the strange carvings on its back.

An act of buying or selling something

📝 The whole transaction at the market took less than a minute.

📖 The transaction was quickly done — a handful of coins passed from Peter's palm to the shopkeeper's, and the chair became theirs.

Very, very old; belonging to times long past

📝 The village church contained several ancient stone tombs.

📖 The chair looked positively ancient, as though it had been made many hundreds of years before the children were born.

An odd or complicated machine or device

📝 Grandpa built a strange contraption for cracking walnuts.

📖 "What an extraordinary contraption!" said Mollie, patting the carved back of the chair with delight.

To be filled with surprise and wonder at something

📝 Visitors always stop to marvel at the huge glass ceiling.

📖 The children could only marvel as the chair rose gently off the floor and hovered a foot above the rug.

To go up; to rise

📝 The little balloon began to ascend slowly into the summer sky.

📖 Peter and Mollie held on tightly as the wishing-chair began to ascend through the open playroom window and into the sky above the garden.

Careful to avoid danger or trouble

📝 Be cautious when you cross the road, even at a zebra crossing.

📖 The children were cautious at first, gripping the wooden arms of the chair with both hands as the ground fell away beneath them.

So clear that it cannot be confused with anything else

📝 The smell of freshly baked bread was unmistakable in the little bakery.

📖 There was an unmistakable rush of wind and a soft whirring of wings — the wishing-chair was quite unlike any ordinary chair they had ever owned.