an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury
From this reading They had been left to the last by pure accident.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading They had been left to the last by pure accident.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading They had been left to the last by pure accident.
chafedadjectiveUS /tʃeɪft/
painful from having the skin abraded
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
discontentnounUS /dɪskənˈtent/
a longing for something better than the present situation
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
eageradjectiveUS /ˈiːɡər/
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)
From this reading Only the two Frenchmen remained for examination.
exigenciesnounUS /ˌekˈsɪdʒənsiz/
plural of “exigency” — a pressing or urgent situation
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Only the two Frenchmen remained for examination.
FrenchmennounUS /ˈfrentʃmen/
plural of “frenchman” — a person of French nationality
From this reading Only the two Frenchmen remained for examination.
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had been left to the last by pure accident.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
a message received and understood
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
a search for knowledge
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
inwardlyadverbUS /ˈɪnwərdli/
with respect to private feelings
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
the quality of being just or fair
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
immediately past
From this reading They had been left to the last by pure accident.
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
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 They had been left to the last by pure accident.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
being nothing more than specified
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
in such a manner as could not be otherwise
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
not any; not one
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
and nothing more
From this reading Only the two Frenchmen remained for examination.
others
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
outburstnounUS /ˈaʊtbɜːrst/
an unrestrained expression of emotion
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
a person who requires medical care
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
preferencenounUS /ˈprefərəns/
a strong liking
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
protestnounUS /ˈproʊtest/
a formal and solemn declaration of objection
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
free of extraneous elements of any kind
From this reading They had been left to the last by pure accident.
recoilverbUS /riˈkɔɪl/
draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading Only the two Frenchmen remained for examination.
submissiveadjectiveUS /səbˈmɪsɪv/
inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
past form of “summon” — call in an official matter, such as to attend court
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Only the two Frenchmen remained for examination.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had been left to the last by pure accident.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They had been left to the last by pure accident.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Only the two Frenchmen remained for examination.
capable of being seen; or open to easy view
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
volunteerverbUS /ˌvɑːlənˈtɪr/
tell voluntarily
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
well-broken
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The exigencies of the inquiry had led to the preference of others, but these two well-broken and submissive gentlemen made no visible protest.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
at the time that
From this reading Not only were they perfectly patient now when summoned before the officers of justice, they were most eager to give every assistance to the law, to go beyond the mere letter, and, if needs be, volunteer information.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading However much they may have chafed inwardly at the delay, they knew better than to object; any outburst of discontent would, they knew, recoil on themselves.
