adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
abandonverbUS /əˈbændən/
forsake, leave behind
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
Alban
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
alternativesnounUS /ɔːlˈtɜːrnətɪvz/
plural of “alternative” — one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
anyadjectiveUS /ˈeni/
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
attemptnounUS /əˈtempt/
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
backadverbUS /bæk/
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
beganverbUS /bɪˈɡæn/
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
CitynounUS /ˈsɪti/
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
ConsciousadjectiveUS /ˈkɑːnʃəs/
intentionally conceived
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
darknounUS /dɑːrk/
absence of light or illumination
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
daynounUS /deɪ/
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
definiteadjectiveUS /ˈdefənət/
precise; explicit and clearly defined
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
discoverynounUS /dɪˈskʌvəri/
the act of discovering something
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
eitherdeterminerUS /ˈiːðər/
one or the other of two
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
Emily's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
errornounUS /ˈerər/
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
falseadjectiveUS /fɔːls/
not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
guessworknounUS /ˈɡeswɜːrk/
an estimate based on little or no information
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
haphazardadjectiveUS /hæpˈhæzərd/
dependent upon or characterized by chance
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
hopenounUS /hoʊp/
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
how
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
ideanounUS /aɪˈdiːə/
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
impatiencenounUS /ˌɪmˈpeɪʃəns/
a lack of patience; irritation with anything that causes delay
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
lednounUS /led/
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
librarynounUS /ˈlaɪbreriː/
a room where books are kept
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
lookingnounUS /ˈlʊkɪŋ/
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
lossnounUS /lɔːs/
something that is lost
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
makingnounUS /ˈmeɪkɪŋ/
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
meansnounUS /miːnz/
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
motivesnounUS /ˈmoʊtɪvz/
plural of “motive” — the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
newspapernounUS /ˈnuːzpeɪpər/
a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
numbersnounUS /ˈnʌmbərz/
the fourth book of the Old Testament; contains a record of the number of Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
ownverbUS /oʊn/
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
penetrateverbUS /ˈpenətreɪt/
pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
presentedverbUS /priˈzentɪd/
past form of “present” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
problemnounUS /ˈprɑːbləm/
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading How was the problem to be solved?
provedadjectiveUS /pruːvd/
established beyond doubt
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
pureadjectiveUS /pjʊr/
free of extraneous elements of any kind
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
pursuednounUS /pərˈsuːd/
a person who is being chased
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
readingnounUS /ˈriːdɪŋ/
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
retraceverbUS /riˈtreɪs/
to go back over again
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
snounUS /es/
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
ShepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
solvedadjectiveUS /sɑːlvd/
explained or answered
From this reading How was the problem to be solved?
stepnounUS /step/
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
takenadjectiveUS /ˈteɪkən/
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
themselvespronounUS /ðemˈselvz/
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
twonounUS /tuː/
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
wastedadjectiveUS /ˈweɪstɪd/
serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
whatpronounUS /wʌt/
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
