AdeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A maiden of twenty-three will not necessarily divine it.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
askverbUS /æsk/
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
auntsnounUS /ænts/
plural of “aunt” — the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
boynounUS /bɔɪ/
a youthful male person
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
Buckner
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
chiefest
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
ChildrennounUS /ˈtʃɪldrən/
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
commonlyadverbUS /ˈkɑːmənli/
under normal conditions
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
daynounUS /deɪ/
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
discoververbUS /dɪˈskʌvər/
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
divineadjectiveUS /dɪˈvaɪn/
emanating from God
From this reading A maiden of twenty-three will not necessarily divine it.
doesauxiliary verbUS /dʌz/
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
eldersnounUS /ˈeldərz/
plural of “elder” — a person who is older than you are
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
endowmentsnounUS /enˈdaʊmənts/
plural of “endowment” — natural abilities or qualities
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
equalverbUS /ˈiːkwəl/
be identical or equivalent to
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
evadeverbUS /ɪˈveɪd/
avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
exceptprepositionUS /ɪkˈsept/
apart from; not including
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
faradverbUS /fɑːr/
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
guidenounUS /ɡaɪd/
someone employed to conduct others
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
hournounUS /ˈaʊər/
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
instinctnounUS /ˈɪnstɪŋkt/
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
JessaminenounUS /ˈdʒesəmɪn/
a climbing deciduous shrub with fragrant white or yellow or red flowers used in perfume and to flavor tea
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
lifenounUS /laɪf/
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
maidennounUS /ˈmeɪdən/
an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
From this reading A maiden of twenty-three will not necessarily divine it.
manyadjectiveUS /ˈmeni/
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
MarriedadjectiveUS /ˈmerid/
joined in matrimony
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
mereadjectiveUS /mɪr/
being nothing more than specified
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
MissverbUS /mɪs/
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
necessarilyadverbUS /ˌnesəˈserəli/
in an essential manner
From this reading A maiden of twenty-three will not necessarily divine it.
neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
ninenounUS /naɪn/
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
NowadverbUS /naʊ/
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
onepronounUS /wʌn/
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
peoplenounUS /ˈpiːpəl/
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
questionsnounUS /ˈkwestʃənz/
plural of “question” — an instance of questioning
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
roomnounUS /ruːm/
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
shepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
shutverbUS /ʃʌt/
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
skirmishnounUS /ˈskɜːrmɪʃ/
a minor short-term fight
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
specialadjectiveUS /ˈspeʃəl/
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
stressnounUS /stres/
the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
surprisenounUS /sərˈpraɪz/
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
theirdeterminerUS /ðer/
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
thusadverbUS /ðʌs/
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Children have many special endowments, and of these the chiefest is to ask questions that their elders must skirmish to evade.
twenty-threenounUS /ˈtwentiθriː/
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-two and one
From this reading A maiden of twenty-three will not necessarily divine it.
unclesnounUS /ˈʌŋkəlz/
plural of “uncle” — the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading Married people and aunts and uncles commonly discover this, but mere instinct does not guide one to it.
unhappyadjectiveUS /ənˈhæpi/
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading Now except in one unhappy hour of stress and surprise, Miss Jessamine Buckner had been more than equal to life thus far.
upadjectiveUS /ʌp/
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
wholeadjectiveUS /hoʊl/
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
willmodal verbUS /wɪl/
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading A maiden of twenty-three will not necessarily divine it.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
yetconjunctionUS /jet/
but in spite of that
From this reading But never yet had she been shut up a whole day in one room with a boy of nine.
