used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A group of his colleagues melted away at his approach.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading The fears that had haunted him all the night and all that day were realised.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
Annie
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
move towards
From this reading A group of his colleagues melted away at his approach.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
assembledverbUS /əˈsembəld/
past form of “assemble” — create by putting components or members together
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading A group of his colleagues melted away at his approach.
put or send forth
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
chorusnounUS /ˈkɔːrəs/
any utterance produced simultaneously by a group
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
colleaguesnounUS /ˈkɑːliɡz/
plural of “colleague” — an associate that one works with
From this reading A group of his colleagues melted away at his approach.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The fears that had haunted him all the night and all that day were realised.
defiantadjectiveUS /dɪˈfaɪənt/
boldly resisting authority or an opposing force
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
plural of “fear” — an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading The fears that had haunted him all the night and all that day were realised.
set up or found
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
gigglingverbUS /ˈɡɪɡəlɪŋ/
-ing form of “giggle” — laugh nervously
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
glancesnounUS /ˈɡlænsɪz/
plural of “glance” — a quick look
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
From this reading A group of his colleagues melted away at his approach.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He saw at once what had happened.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading He saw at once what had happened.
hauntedadjectiveUS /ˈhɔːntɪd/
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading The fears that had haunted him all the night and all that day were realised.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A group of his colleagues melted away at his approach.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
meltedadjectiveUS /ˈmeltəd/
changed from a solid to a liquid state
From this reading A group of his colleagues melted away at his approach.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
used to form the superlative
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The fears that had haunted him all the night and all that day were realised.
nudgings
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
on one occasion
From this reading He saw at once what had happened.
paler
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
railwaynounUS /ˈreɪlweɪ/
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
realisedadjectiveUS /ˈriːəlaɪzd/
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading The fears that had haunted him all the night and all that day were realised.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
cut with a saw
From this reading He saw at once what had happened.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
having a supporting base
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
StevensnounUS /ˈstiːvənz/
United States psychologist and psychophysicist who proposed Stevens' power law to replace Fechner's law (1906-1973)
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The fears that had haunted him all the night and all that day were realised.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At the railway station the next afternoon he found most of the company already assembled on the platform.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
usualadjectiveUS /ˈjuːʒəwəl/
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He saw at once what had happened.
whisperings
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
which person or people
From this reading Curious glances were cast upon him as he appeared; there were nudgings and whisperings; some giggling on the part of the chorus girls standing round Annie Stevens, who was looking paler and more defiant than usual.
