used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
(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 They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
contemplationnounUS /ˌkɑːntəmˈpleɪʃən/
a long and thoughtful observation
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
a lawyer who pleads cases in court
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
destinedadjectiveUS /ˈdestɪnd/
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Nor did they essay to take sleep or rest.
distraughtadjectiveUS /dɪˈstrɔːt/
deeply agitated especially from emotion
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
plural of “duty” — the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
earlyadjectiveUS /ˈɜːrli/
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
essaynounUS /eˈseɪ/
an analytic or interpretive literary composition
From this reading Nor did they essay to take sleep or rest.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
groundsnounUS /ɡraʊndz/
your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
Ignacio
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
in place of, or as an alternative to
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
matinsnoun
the first canonical hour; at daybreak
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
not any; not one
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
not one, and not any
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Nor did they essay to take sleep or rest.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Nor did they essay to take sleep or rest.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Nor did they essay to take sleep or rest.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
seeminglyadverbUS /ˈsiːmɪŋli/
from appearances alone
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Nor did they essay to take sleep or rest.
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
use up a period of time in a specific way
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
carry out
From this reading Nor did they essay to take sleep or rest.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading They had the place all to themselves; no one to take counsel with, none to comfort them; Don Ignacio, at an early hour, having been called off to his duties in the city.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Nor did they essay to take sleep or rest.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
someone who visits
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading Instead, wandered about the house from room to room, and out into the grounds, seemingly distraught.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With this in contemplation, their souls full of fear, neither went that morning to matins.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading But they were not destined to spend the whole of that day without seeing a visitor.
