1
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the Locked Library (Wednesday, December 1; 1 p. m.)
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/
Having no one else present.
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
tried unsuccessfully
From this reading Later in the forenoon he attempted to busy himself with cataloguing his Chinese prints.
attemptsnounUS /əˈtempts/
plural of “attempt” — earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading Later in the forenoon he attempted to busy himself with cataloguing his Chinese prints.
cataloguingverbUS /ˈkætəlɔːɡɪŋ/
-ing form of “catalogue” — make an itemized list or catalog of; classify
From this reading Later in the forenoon he attempted to busy himself with cataloguing his Chinese prints.
ChinesenounUS /tʃaɪˈniːz/
any of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in China; regarded as dialects of a single language (even though they are mutually unintelligible) because they share an ideographic writing system
From this reading Later in the forenoon he attempted to busy himself with cataloguing his Chinese prints.
one who is the object of choice; who is given preference
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
very opposed in nature or character or purpose
From this reading Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning.
accepted or habitual practice
From this reading Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning.
DecembernounUS /dɪˈsembər/
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading In the Locked Library (Wednesday, December 1; 1 p. m.)
desultoryadjectiveUS /ˈdesəltɔːri/
marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
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 Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning.
forenoonnoun
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Later in the forenoon he attempted to busy himself with cataloguing his Chinese prints.
Genghis
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Later in the forenoon he attempted to busy himself with cataloguing his Chinese prints.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the Locked Library (Wednesday, December 1; 1 p. m.)
KhannounUS /kɑːn/
a title given to rulers or other important people in Asian countries
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Later in the forenoon he attempted to busy himself with cataloguing his Chinese prints.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
a room where books are kept
From this reading In the Locked Library (Wednesday, December 1; 1 p. m.)
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading In the Locked Library (Wednesday, December 1; 1 p. m.)
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading In the Locked Library (Wednesday, December 1; 1 p. m.)
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
on one occasion
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading In the Locked Library (Wednesday, December 1; 1 p. m.)
printsnounUS /prɪnts/
plural of “print” — the text appearing in a book, newspaper, or other printed publication
From this reading Later in the forenoon he attempted to busy himself with cataloguing his Chinese prints.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
on the contrary
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
severelyadverbUS /səˈvɪrli/
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the Locked Library (Wednesday, December 1; 1 p. m.)
a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning.
Vance
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
waspishadjective
very irritable
From this reading He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone.
WednesdaynounUS /ˈwenzdi/
the fourth day of the week; the third working day
From this reading In the Locked Library (Wednesday, December 1; 1 p. m.)
at the time that
From this reading He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I glanced at the title,—he had chosen a life of Genghis Khan!
in the company of; together with
From this reading Later in the forenoon he attempted to busy himself with cataloguing his Chinese prints.
