used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
anew
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
(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 Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading He was almost quite chaste.
amongprepositionUS /əˈmʌŋ/
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
applicationnounUS /ˌæpləˈkeɪʃən/
the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
a youthful male person
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
chasteadjectiveUS /tʃeɪst/
morally pure (especially not having experienced sexual intercourse)
From this reading He was almost quite chaste.
debauchedadjective
unrestrained by convention or morality
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
dumbadjectiveUS /dʌm/
slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A strong sensitiveness had kept him from women.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A strong sensitiveness had kept him from women.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
humilitynounUS /hjuːˈmɪlɪti/
a disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
inexperiencedadjectiveUS /ɪnɪkˈspɪriənst/
lacking practical experience or training
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading A strong sensitiveness had kept him from women.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
the force of workers available
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
naïve
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
not any; not one
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
and nothing more
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading He was almost quite chaste.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
sensitivenessnounUS /ˈsensətɪvnəs/
sensitivity to emotional feelings (of self and others)
From this reading A strong sensitiveness had kept him from women.
SexualadjectiveUS /ˈsekʃuːəl/
of or relating to or characterized by sexuality
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
in some unspecified way or manner; or by some unspecified means
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading A strong sensitiveness had kept him from women.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
uneasinessnounUS /ˌʌˈniːzinəs/
feelings of anxiety that make you tense and irritable
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
precisely as stated
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Sexual talk was all very well among men, but somehow it had no application to living women.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There were two things for him, the _idea_ of women, with which he sometimes debauched himself, and real women, before whom he felt a deep uneasiness, and a need to draw away.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading A strong sensitiveness had kept him from women.
a late time of life
From this reading He came home again, nearly thirty years old, but naïve and inexperienced as a boy, only with a silence about him that was new: a sort of dumb humility before life, a fear of living.
