used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
having companions or an escort
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And the cause of this direful shock?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
bitingadjectiveUS /ˈbaɪtɪŋ/
capable of wounding
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
cause to be bored
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading And the cause of this direful shock?
rid of obstructions
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
constructionnounUS /kənˈstrʌkʃən/
the act of constructing something
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
conveyedverbUS /kənˈveɪd/
past form of “convey” — (of information) make known; pass on
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
datedadjectiveUS /ˈdeɪtɪd/
marked by features of the immediate and usually discounted past
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
delicatelyadverbUS /ˈdeləkətli/
in a delicate manner
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
direfuladjective
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading And the cause of this direful shock?
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
effectsnounUS /ɪˈfekts/
property of a personal character that is portable but not used in business
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
exquisitelyadverbUS /ˌekˈskwɪzɪtli/
in a delicate manner
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
being the sex (of plant or animal) that produces fertilizable gametes (ova) from which offspring develop
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
fibrenounUS /ˈfaɪbər/
a slender and greatly elongated substance capable of being spun into yarn
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
set up or found
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
the state of being honored
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
Lilian
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
engage in
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
malicenounUS /ˈmæləs/
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And the cause of this direful shock?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
phantasmaladjective
resembling or characteristic of a phantom
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
postmarknounUS /ˈpoʊstmɑːrk/
a cancellation mark stamped on mail by postal officials; indicates the post office and date of mailing
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
past form of “produce” — bring forth or yield
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
free of extraneous elements of any kind
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
scandalnounUS /ˈskændəl/
disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
sedulouslyadverb
in a sedulous manner
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
sensitiveadjectiveUS /ˈsensətɪv/
responsive to physical stimuli
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading And the cause of this direful shock?
sinisteradjectiveUS /ˈsɪnɪstər/
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
that is looked for
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
orally recite the letters of or give the spelling of
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
comparative of “strong” — having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And the cause of this direful shock?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And the cause of this direful shock?
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
tracedverbUS /treɪst/
past form of “trace” — follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something
From this reading Not this time could it be traced to some evil spell, some phantasmal influence.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The cause was clear, and might have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely pure.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L----, and bore the postmark of that town.
the words that are spoken
From this reading It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought sedulously to guard from her ear,--her flight, the construction that scandal put upon it.
