used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
allegiancenounUS /əˈliːdʒəns/
the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
amongprepositionUS /əˈmʌŋ/
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
bafflednounUS /ˈbæfəld/
people who are frustrated and perplexed
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
bossnounUS /bɑːs/
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
burlyadjectiveUS /ˈbɜːrli/
muscular and heavily built
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
Callahan
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
the act of discovering something
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
divisible by two
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
a boy or man
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
ghostsnounUS /ɡoʊsts/
plural of “ghost” — a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
givenadjectiveUS /ˈɡɪvən/
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
ItaliansnounUS /ˌɪˈtæljənz/
plural of “italian” — a native or inhabitant of Italy
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
and nothing more
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
missingadjectiveUS /ˈmɪsɪŋ/
not able to be found
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
NegroesnounUS /ˈniːɡroʊz/
plural of “negro” — a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
nerve-rackingadjectiveUS /ˌnɜːrˈvrækɪŋ/
extremely irritating to the nerves
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading These new workmen were not superstitious.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
owedverbUS /oʊd/
past form of “owe” — be obliged to pay or repay
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
previouslyadverbUS /ˈpriːviəsli/
at an earlier time or formerly
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
seeminglyadverbUS /ˈsiːmɪŋli/
from appearances alone
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
superstitiousadjectiveUS /ˌsuːpərˈstɪʃəs/
showing ignorance of the laws of nature and faith in magic or chance
From this reading These new workmen were not superstitious.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
in or at that place or location
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading These new workmen were not superstitious.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
a special situation
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
uncertaintynounUS /ənˈsɜːrtənti/
being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
in or at the place that
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
white-collar-class
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But even they, white-collar-class, as they were called, seemed suddenly given to some strange and nerve-racking fear.
which person or people
From this reading They were not like the Negroes and Italians who had previously “seen ghosts.”
workernounUS /ˈwɜːrkər/
a person who works at a specific occupation
From this reading They wanted to hurry away from the old Hall where such a strange thing had seemingly just happened, but felt they owed a certain allegiance to their missing fellow worker if not to the burly and baffled boss, Callahan.
workmennounUS /ˈwɜːrkmɪn/
plural of “workman” — an employee who performs manual or industrial labor
From this reading A Strange Discovery There appeared to be a spirit of uncertainty among the workmen.
