used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
a line of approach
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
the two together, not just one
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
clingingverbUS /ˈklɪŋɪŋ/
-ing form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
colourlessadjective
lacking in variety and interest
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
coweringverbUS /ˈkaʊərɪŋ/
-ing form of “cower” — crouch or curl up
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
dilatedverbUS /ˌdaɪˈleɪtɪd/
past form of “dilate” — become wider
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
divisible by two
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
faintlyadverbUS /ˈfeɪntli/
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
impulsivelyadverbUS /ˌɪmˈpʌlsɪvli/
in an impulsive or impetuous way; without taking cautions
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
Louise
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
Melbain's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
and nothing more
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
relapsedverbUS /riˈlæpst/
past form of “relapse” — deteriorate in health
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
startlingadjectiveUS /ˈstɑːrtlɪŋ/
so remarkably different or sudden as to cause momentary shock or alarm
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
suppressedadjectiveUS /səˈprest/
kept from public knowledge by various means
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
terror-strickenadjective
struck or filled with terror
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
in or at that place or location
From this reading THE SCENE IN THE AVENUE There followed a few minutes of somewhat curious silence.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading For some reason she seemed terror-stricken, both she and Louise, who was clinging now to her arm.
topsadjectiveUS /tɑːps/
of the highest quality
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
venomousadjectiveUS /ˈvenəməs/
extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom
From this reading Neither of them seemed even to have glanced at the cowering figure of the man, who had relapsed now into a venomous silence.
capable of being seen; or open to easy view
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She had moved impulsively a little forward; the moon, visible now from over the tree tops, was shining faintly upon her absolutely colourless face and dilated eyes.
which person or people
From this reading At the first sound of the voice of the man who had made so startling an appearance in their midst, a cry, only half suppressed, had broken from Madame de Melbain's lips.
