Chapter IX

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

(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 There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

Having no one else present.

From this reading I felt as alone in the city as in the wide steppes.

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

separated or at a distance in place or position or time

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading I felt as alone in the city as in the wide steppes.

being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts

From this reading I felt as alone in the city as in the wide steppes.

cause to herd, drive, or crowd together

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

a flour mixture stiff enough to knead or roll

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

having dropped by the force of gravity

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

having an (over)abundance of flesh

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

mat together and make felt-like

From this reading I felt as alone in the city as in the wide steppes.

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

of comparatively great physical weight or density

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading I felt as alone in the city as in the wide steppes.

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading I felt as alone in the city as in the wide steppes.

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

the deliberate act of deviating from the truth

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

produced by a manufacturing process

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

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 There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

the residence of a religious community

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

immediately following in time or order

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

plural of “nun” — a woman religious

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

plural of “piece” — a separate part of a whole

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

on the contrary

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

possessing material wealth

From this reading The monastery was rich.

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

plural of “sister” — a female person who has the same parents as another person

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

yielding readily to pressure or weight

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

plural of “steppe” — extensive plain without trees (associated with eastern Russia and Siberia)

From this reading I felt as alone in the city as in the wide steppes.

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading I felt as alone in the city as in the wide steppes.

in or at that place or location

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

being three more than thirty

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The monastery was rich.

how something is done or how it happens

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading There were thirty-three versts to the monastery, and I immediately started on my way to it and on the next day I said early mass there.

a Caucasian

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.

including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete

From this reading Around me were nuns, a whole black crowd, as if a mountain had fallen apart and its broken pieces were lying about in the church.

having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other

From this reading I felt as alone in the city as in the wide steppes.

in the company of; together with

From this reading There were many sisters, all rather heavy, with fat, white, soft faces, as if made of dough.