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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 The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
Abbie
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
Abbie's
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From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
account
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From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
alarmed
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From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
all
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From this reading But why had Bressant returned so secretly? and why were his movements all so surreptitious?
ANDconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading MOTHER AND SON.
anybodypronounUS /ˈenibədi/
any person at all
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
approaching
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From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
ball
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From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/
earlier than; in front of
From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
Bressant
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From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
Cornelia
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From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
crept
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From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
disappearance
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From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
dissolution
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From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
entered
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From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
grand
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From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But why had Bressant returned so secretly? and why were his movements all so surreptitious?
happened
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
HepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
heard
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
hours
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
house
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
MOTHER
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From this reading MOTHER AND SON.
movements
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From this reading But why had Bressant returned so secretly? and why were his movements all so surreptitious?
mysteriousadjectiveUS /mɪˈstɪriəs/
difficult to explain or understand
From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
now
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
partly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
progress
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
quietly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
relievednounUS /ˈrelieved/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
returnednounUS /ˈreturned/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading But why had Bressant returned so secretly? and why were his movements all so surreptitious?
room
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
saw
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
secretly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But why had Bressant returned so secretly? and why were his movements all so surreptitious?
seen
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
ShepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
showing
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
side-door
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
sight
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
signs
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
soconjunctionUS /soʊ/
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading But why had Bressant returned so secretly? and why were his movements all so surreptitious?
some
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She could now account for the mysterious disappearance of Cornelia some hours before.
SON
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MOTHER AND SON.
stillnounUS /still/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
surreptitious
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But why had Bressant returned so secretly? and why were his movements all so surreptitious?
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/
in spite of the fact that
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
up
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But why had Bressant returned so secretly? and why were his movements all so surreptitious?
whenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading The grand ball at Abbie's was still in progress, though showing signs of approaching dissolution, when Bressant entered the house quietly at a side-door, and crept up to his room.
why
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But why had Bressant returned so secretly? and why were his movements all so surreptitious?
wished
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wished not to be seen or heard by anybody; but it happened that Abbie saw him, and the sight partly alarmed and partly relieved her.
