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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
absorb
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From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
any
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
apparent
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From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
artauxiliary verbUS /ɑːrt/
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
booksnounUS /bʊks/
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading He found himself unable to understand a single word of the books he read.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
caves
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From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not even receive impressions through his eyes.
creaturenounUS /ˈcreature/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
Des
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From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
Esseintes
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From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
evennounUS /even/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading He could not even receive impressions through his eyes.
EvernounUS /ever/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
evoked
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From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
eyes
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From this reading He could not even receive impressions through his eyes.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
foundnounUS /found/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading He found himself unable to understand a single word of the books he read.
gave
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From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
hepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
hibernates
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He found himself unable to understand a single word of the books he read.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
impressions
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He could not even receive impressions through his eyes.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
ItpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
lifenounUS /life/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
like
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From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
literature
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
lived
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
melancholy
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
memoriesnounUS /ˈmɛm.ə.riz/
Recollections of past events.
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
mindnounUS /mind/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
more
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
night
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From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
nodeterminerUS /noʊ/
not any; not one
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He could not even receive impressions through his eyes.
nourished
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
own
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
past
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
peace
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From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
pictures
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
read
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He found himself unable to understand a single word of the books he read.
reason
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
receive
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He could not even receive impressions through his eyes.
refused
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From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
returnednounUS /ˈreturned/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
saturated
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
seemednounUS /seemed/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
single
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He found himself unable to understand a single word of the books he read.
some
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
substancenounUS /ˈsʌbstəns/
wealth or financial means
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
throughnounUS /ˈthrough/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading He could not even receive impressions through his eyes.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
torpid
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
train
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
unable
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He found himself unable to understand a single word of the books he read.
understandnounUS /understand/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading He found himself unable to understand a single word of the books he read.
whenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
whole
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ever since the night when he had evoked, for no apparent reason, a whole train of melancholy memories, pictures of his past life returned to Des Esseintes and gave him no peace.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading It seemed to him that his mind, saturated with literature and art, refused to absorb any more.
withinprepositionUS /wɪˈðɪn/
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading He lived within himself, nourished by his own substance, like some torpid creature which hibernates in caves.
word
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He found himself unable to understand a single word of the books he read.
