used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
Betty
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He never came to her for comfort or protection.
past form of “cause” — give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
From this reading From the day when he could crawl his self-reliance had caused her secret tears.
a young person of either sex
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading He never came to her for comfort or protection.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading From the day when he could crawl his self-reliance had caused her secret tears.
crawlverbUS /krɔːl/
move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading From the day when he could crawl his self-reliance had caused her secret tears.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading From the day when he could crawl his self-reliance had caused her secret tears.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
figurativelyadverbUS /fɪˈɡjʊrətɪvli/
in a figurative sense
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
frolicnounUS /ˈfrɑːlɪk/
gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From the day when he could crawl his self-reliance had caused her secret tears.
activities that are enjoyable or amusing
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
gravitynounUS /ˈɡrævəti/
(physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading From the day when he could crawl his self-reliance had caused her secret tears.
helplessnessnounUS /ˈhelpləsnəs/
powerlessness revealed by an inability to act
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
feeling or showing love and affection
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
engage in
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
mischievousnessnoun
an attribute of mischievous children
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
of an obscure nature
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading He never came to her for comfort or protection.
not any; not one
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He never came to her for comfort or protection.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
an amount of time
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
the activity of protecting someone or something
From this reading He never came to her for comfort or protection.
scoldverbUS /skoʊld/
censure severely or angrily
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading From the day when he could crawl his self-reliance had caused her secret tears.
self-reliancenoun
personal independence
From this reading From the day when he could crawl his self-reliance had caused her secret tears.
sharedadjectiveUS /ʃerd/
have in common; held or experienced in common
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
a male human offspring
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
Strong'nth'arm
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading From the day when he could crawl his self-reliance had caused her secret tears.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
at the time that
From this reading Mrs. Strong’nth’arm had not spoken figuratively when she had told Betty that there were times when she did not know her own son.
whileconjunctionUS /waɪl/
during the time that
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
in the company of; together with
From this reading There had been, with him, no period of fun and frolic that she might have shared in; no mischievousness for her to scold while loving him the more for it; no helplessness to make appeal to her.
a late time of life
From this reading As a child, there had always been, to her, something mysterious about him; a gravity, a wisdom beyond his years.
