Extremely large in size or degree; huge

📝 An immense oak tree stood at the centre of the field.

📖 The gates of Giant Land were so immense that the wishing-chair looked no bigger than a matchbox beside them.

Very loud and deep, like the sound of thunder

📝 The concert ended with a thunderous burst of applause.

📖 The giant's voice was thunderous — every plate on the shelves rattled, and Mollie thought her ears might crack.

To shake from fear, cold, or a great force

📝 Her legs began to quake as she stepped up to the diving board.

📖 Peter felt his knees begin to quake as the great tramping feet came closer along the corridor.

Clever in a sly or cunning way

📝 The fox had a crafty way of stealing chickens without being seen.

📖 Chinky was a crafty little pixie, and he could think up a plan in the time it took a giant to blink.

To pretend to be another person or thing

📝 The comedian could impersonate the Prime Minister to perfection.

📖 "You must impersonate a bag of turnips," Chinky whispered, "or the giant is bound to spot us."

To pretend to feel or have something, especially an illness or emotion

📝 The mouse learned to feign death whenever a predator came near.

📖 Peter had to feign complete stillness inside the sack, hardly daring to breathe as the giant tramped past.

To take hold of something firmly

📝 The climber tried to grasp the rope with her frozen fingers.

📖 Mollie's small hand tried to grasp the wooden arm of the chair as the giant's fingers came terrifyingly close.

Not securely held; likely to fall or fail

📝 The vase sat in a precarious position at the very edge of the shelf.

📖 The children found themselves in a precarious situation — the giant only inches away, and the wishing-chair still rising too slowly.

Fierce, savage, or violently intense

📝 The little terrier gave a surprisingly ferocious bark for its size.

📖 The giant's roar was so ferocious that the entire valley below echoed with the sound.

To make someone believe something that is not true

📝 The clever spy could deceive even the sharpest of guards.

📖 Their best hope was to deceive the giant just long enough to reach the wishing-chair and rise safely into the sky.

A short break or rest from something difficult

📝 The rain stopped for a brief respite, then began again harder than before.

📖 Back in the playroom the three friends flopped down for a well-earned respite, weak with relief and quiet giggles.

To follow after someone in order to catch them

📝 The dog began to pursue the ball as soon as it left her hand.

📖 The furious giant tried to pursue the wishing-chair, but its wings carried it far too high and far too fast for his stumbling grasp.