used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
adjustedadjectiveUS /əˈdʒʌstɪd/
altered to accommodate to certain requirements or bring into a proper relation
From this reading They're adjusted.
aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/
Having no one else present.
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
any person at all
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
couldn't
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
deviseverbUS /dɪˈvaɪz/
come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
(often used in combination) having a specified direction
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading People don't do that nowadays.
don't
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading People don't do that nowadays.
else
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
ferociousadjectiveUS /fərˈoʊʃəs/
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading With some surprise I realized that he was talking to himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
How
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
nastyadjectiveUS /ˈnæsti/
offensive or even (of persons) malicious
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
nowadaysnounUS /ˈnaʊədeɪz/
the period of time that is happening now; any continuous stretch of time including the moment of speech
From this reading People don't do that nowadays.
peacefuladjectiveUS /ˈpiːsfəl/
not disturbed by strife or turmoil or war
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading People don't do that nowadays.
any competition
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading With some surprise I realized that he was talking to himself.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading With some surprise I realized that he was talking to himself.
spacemannoun
a person trained to travel in a spacecraft
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading With some surprise I realized that he was talking to himself.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading With some surprise I realized that he was talking to himself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
They're
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They're adjusted.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
uninflectedadjective
(of the voice) not inflected
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
wasn't
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wasn't speaking to me--that was certain--nor was his flat, curiously uninflected voice directed at anyone else.
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With some surprise I realized that he was talking to himself.
but in spite of that
From this reading _How could any race look so ferocious and yet be peaceful--and devise so nasty a weapon?_ I couldn't help listening to the big spaceman sitting alone at the corner table.
