used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
tried unsuccessfully
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
placed in a grave
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The dainty form was shaken by a storm of sobs....
Cicily
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
Civitas
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
daintyadjectiveUS /ˈdeɪnti/
delicately beautiful
From this reading The dainty form was shaken by a storm of sobs....
Delancy
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading The dainty form was shaken by a storm of sobs....
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
lady'snounUS /ˈleɪdiz/
possessive form of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
lapverbUS /læp/
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
not in physical motion
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
not any; not one
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
and nothing more
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
pattedverbUS /ˈpætɪd/
inflected form of “pat” — pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
poseverbUS /poʊz/
introduce
From this reading Then, of a sudden, the rigidity of her pose relaxed.
relaxedadjectiveUS /rɪˈlækst/
without strain or anxiety
From this reading Then, of a sudden, the rigidity of her pose relaxed.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
rigiditynounUS /rɪˈdʒɪdəti/
the physical property of being stiff and resisting bending
From this reading Then, of a sudden, the rigidity of her pose relaxed.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
shakenadjectiveUS /ˈʃeɪkən/
disturbed psychologically as if by a physical jolt or shock
From this reading The dainty form was shaken by a storm of sobs....
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
sobsnounUS /sɑːbz/
plural of “sob” — a dyspneic condition
From this reading The dainty form was shaken by a storm of sobs....
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
with low volume
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading The dainty form was shaken by a storm of sobs....
strokedverbUS /stroʊkt/
past form of “stroke” — touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading Then, of a sudden, the rigidity of her pose relaxed.
in a swift manner
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
tenderlyadverbUS /ˈtendərli/
with tenderness; in a tender manner
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
tensenounUS /tens/
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, of a sudden, the rigidity of her pose relaxed.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
tressesnounUS /ˈtresɪz/
plural of “tress” — a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
in or at the place that
From this reading She moved swiftly to where her aunt was sitting, dropped to her knees, and buried her face in the old lady's lap.
whitely
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For a few moments after the passing of the Civitas Society, Cicily remained in her place, motionless, tense, her face whitely set.
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
a late time of life
From this reading Mrs. Delancy, wise from years, attempted no word of comfort for the time being--only stroked the shining brown tresses softly, and patted a shoulder tenderly.
