adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
AMauxiliary verbUS /æm/
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading WHAT AM I THAT I SHOULD DO THIS THING?
andeterminerUS /æn/
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
appreciationnounUS /əˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃən/
understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
AtprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “At last!”
attitudenounUS /ˈætətuːd/
a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
breakfasted
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
caughtverbUS /kɑːt/
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
daynounUS /deɪ/
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He did not, however, waste his time over such an endeavor.
DOauxiliary verbUS /duː/
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading WHAT AM I THAT I SHOULD DO THIS THING?
endeavornounUS /ɪnˈdevər/
a purposeful or industrious undertaking (especially one that requires effort or boldness)
From this reading He did not, however, waste his time over such an endeavor.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
glimpsenounUS /ɡlɪmps/
a quick look
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
HepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He did not, however, waste his time over such an endeavor.
hournounUS /ˈaʊər/
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
howeveradverbUS /ˌhaʊˈevər/
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading He did not, however, waste his time over such an endeavor.
IpronounUS /aɪ/
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading WHAT AM I THAT I SHOULD DO THIS THING?
IfconjunctionUS /ɪf/
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
lastadjectiveUS /læst/
immediately past
From this reading “At last!”
letternounUS /ˈletər/
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
linesnounUS /laɪnz/
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
minutenounUS /ˈmɪnət/
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
naturenounUS /ˈneɪtʃər/
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
nightnounUS /naɪt/
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading He did not, however, waste his time over such an endeavor.
perhapsadverbUS /pərˈhæps/
by chance
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
previousadjectiveUS /ˈpriːviəs/
just preceding something else in time or order
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
reconcileverbUS /ˈrekənsaɪl/
make (one thing) compatible with
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
satnounUS /sæt/
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
sayverbUS /seɪ/
express in words
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
SHOULDmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading WHAT AM I THAT I SHOULD DO THIS THING?
soconjunctionUS /soʊ/
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
someadjectiveUS /sʌm/
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
spentadjectiveUS /spent/
depleted of energy, force, or strength
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading He did not, however, waste his time over such an endeavor.
THATconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading WHAT AM I THAT I SHOULD DO THIS THING?
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
THINGnounUS /θɪŋ/
a special situation
From this reading WHAT AM I THAT I SHOULD DO THIS THING?
THISdeterminerUS /ðɪs/
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading WHAT AM I THAT I SHOULD DO THIS THING?
thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
timenounUS /taɪm/
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
tonenounUS /toʊn/
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
tryingadjectiveUS /ˈtraɪɪŋ/
hard to endure
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
twonounUS /tuː/
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
wastenounUS /weɪst/
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading He did not, however, waste his time over such an endeavor.
WHATpronounUS /wʌt/
used to ask for information about something
From this reading WHAT AM I THAT I SHOULD DO THIS THING?
whopronounUS /huː/
which person or people
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
womannounUS /ˈwʊmən/
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading If he had not had some appreciation of her nature he would have spent an hour or two--perhaps a day or two--trying to reconcile her attitude of the previous night with the tone of her letter.
writtenadjectiveUS /ˈrɪtən/
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading He sat with the letter before him after he had breakfasted, and perhaps for a time, say a minute or so, he caught a glimpse of the nature of the woman who had written those lines to him.
