againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/
(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 Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
anythingpronounUS /ˈeniθɪŋ/
any thing at all
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading If she welcomed him she must have been expecting him.
besidesprepositionUS /bɪˈsaɪdz/
in addition to; as well as
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
bewilderedadjectiveUS /bɪˈwɪldərd/
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
cheeknounUS /tʃiːk/
either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
clingingverbUS /ˈklɪŋɪŋ/
-ing form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
clungverbUS /klʌŋ/
inflected form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
completelyadverbUS /kəmˈpliːtli/
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
evidentadjectiveUS /ˈevədənt/
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
expectingverbUS /ɪkˈspektɪŋ/
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading If she welcomed him she must have been expecting him.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
FredericknounUS /ˈfredrɪk/
a town in northern Maryland to the west of Baltimore
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If she welcomed him she must have been expecting him.
hepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
helpverbUS /help/
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
hereadverbUS /hiːr/
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
hurtverbUS /hɜːrt/
be the source of pain
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
long-forgotten
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
lovenounUS /lʌv/
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
mannounUS /mæn/
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
murmuringnounUS /ˈmɜːrmərɪŋ/
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading If she welcomed him she must have been expecting him.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
NowadverbUS /naʊ/
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/
and nothing more
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
placesnounUS /ˈpleɪsəz/
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
shepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
situationnounUS /ˌsɪtʃuːˈeɪʃən/
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
smellnounUS /smel/
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
softnessnounUS /ˈsɔːftnəs/
the property of giving little resistance to pressure and being easily cut or molded
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
StrangeadjectiveUS /streɪndʒ/
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
sweetadjectiveUS /swiːt/
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
thingnounUS /θɪŋ/
a special situation
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Now Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it; besides, he was completely bewildered.
welcomedverbUS /ˈwelkəmd/
past form of “welcome” — accept gladly
From this reading If she welcomed him she must have been expecting him.
welcomingadjectiveUS /ˈwelkəmɪŋ/
very cordial
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Strange as this was, it was the only thing in the situation which was evident—that, and the softness of her cheek against his, and the long-forgotten sweet smell of her.
wifenounUS /waɪf/
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
worldnounUS /wɜːrld/
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
yearsnounUS /jɪrz/
a late time of life
From this reading Not only was his wife here—here, of all places in the world—but she was clinging to him as she had not clung for years, and murmuring love, and welcoming him.
