Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
all
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
ardour
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
arrangement
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hall was not lit up, for daylight still lingered under the new arrangement.
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
back
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
becauseconjunctionUS /bɪˈkɔːz/
for the reason that
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
beginningnounUS /ˈbeginning/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
catching
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
daylight
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hall was not lit up, for daylight still lingered under the new arrangement.
desire
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
doauxiliary verbUS /duː/
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
evernounUS /ever/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
eyes
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
fearfully
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
feel
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
feelingnounUS /ˈfeeling/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
felt
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
fervour
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The hall was not lit up, for daylight still lingered under the new arrangement.
get
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
glow
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
hall
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hall was not lit up, for daylight still lingered under the new arrangement.
hepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
herenounUS /here/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
IpronounUS /aɪ/
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
I've
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
infection
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
just
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
kissing
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
leftnounUS /left/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
lingered
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hall was not lit up, for daylight still lingered under the new arrangement.
lit
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hall was not lit up, for daylight still lingered under the new arrangement.
littlenounUS /little/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
longed
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
looking
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
lot
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
makenounUS /make/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
mepronounUS /miː/
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
mean
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
morningnounUS /morning/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
new
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
poornounUS /poor/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
quietly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
said
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
say
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/
from a time in the past until now
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
soften
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/
a thing, without saying which
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
stillnounUS /still/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The hall was not lit up, for daylight still lingered under the new arrangement.
suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
surely
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
swiftly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
tellnounUS /tell/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
There's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
theypronounUS /ðeɪ/
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
Tommy
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
touching
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
truth
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading The hall was not lit up, for daylight still lingered under the new arrangement.
unsteady
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
up
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hall was not lit up, for daylight still lingered under the new arrangement.
want
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
wanted
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
watching
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
whatpronounUS /wʌt/
used to ask for information about something
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
WhenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
wife
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was what he wanted to say to his wife, not touching, or kissing her, just looking into her eyes, watching them soften and glow as they surely must, catching the infection of his new ardour.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading And he felt unsteady, fearfully unsteady with the desire to say it all as it should be said: swiftly, quietly, with the truth and fervour of his feeling.
wonderfulnounUS /ˈwonderful/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading There's something wonderful in this, and I want you to feel it as I do, because you mean such a lot to me.”
youpronounUS /juː/
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “When I left that poor little Tommy this morning, and ever since, I've longed to get back here quietly to you and tell you about it, and make a beginning.
