used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
accusednounUS /əˈkjuːzd/
a defendant in a criminal proceeding
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
(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 She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
plural of “beast” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
put or send forth
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading She paced to-and-fro, wringing her hands in despair.
destituteadjectiveUS /ˈdestətuːt/
poor enough to need help from others
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
Erma
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
executionnounUS /ˌeksəˈkjuːʃən/
putting a condemned person to death
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading She paced to-and-fro, wringing her hands in despair.
decoration that is hung (as a tapestry) on a wall or over a window
From this reading THE HANGING.
havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She paced to-and-fro, wringing her hands in despair.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She paced to-and-fro, wringing her hands in despair.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
Lanier
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
engage in
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
murderedadjectiveUS /ˈmɜːrdərd/
killed unlawfully
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
needlesslyadverbUS /ˈniːdləsli/
without need
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
and nothing more
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
pacedverbUS /peɪst/
past form of “pace” — walk with slow or fast paces
From this reading She paced to-and-fro, wringing her hands in despair.
precedingadjectiveUS /priˈsiːdɪŋ/
existing or coming before
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
ravenousadjectiveUS /ˈrævənəs/
extremely hungry
From this reading She accused herself of having needlessly murdered her own brother, of having cast him into the midst of ravenous beasts, destitute of conscience and of feeling.
raynounUS /reɪ/
a column of light (as from a beacon)
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
retireverbUS /rɪˈtaɪr/
go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
shamefullyadverb
in a dishonorable manner or to a dishonorable degree
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She paced to-and-fro, wringing her hands in despair.
snatchverbUS /snætʃ/
to grasp hastily or eagerly
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HANGING.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
to-and-fro
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She paced to-and-fro, wringing her hands in despair.
subjected to a physical (or chemical) treatment or action or agent
From this reading She felt that Lanier had treated her shamefully to hold out to her a ray of hope, only to snatch it away and make the darkness all the more dark.
wringingverbUS /ˈrɪŋɪŋ/
-ing form of “wring” — twist and press out of shape
From this reading She paced to-and-fro, wringing her hands in despair.
Wysong's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the night preceding the day set for John Wysong's execution, Erma did not retire to rest.
