adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
ableadjectiveUS /ˈeɪbəl/
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
airnounUS /er/
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/
(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 At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
AmericanounUS /əˈmerəkə/
North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
AtprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
attemptsnounUS /əˈtempts/
plural of “attempt” — earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
backadverbUS /bæk/
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
beheldverbUS /biˈheld/
inflected form of “behold” — see with attention
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
believeverbUS /bɪˈliːv/
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
bringverbUS /brɪŋ/
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
cameverbUS /keɪm/
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
convincedadjectiveUS /kənˈvɪnst/
persuaded of; very sure
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
factsnounUS /fækts/
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
fewadjectiveUS /fjuː/
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
forcedadjectiveUS /fɔːrst/
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
greatadjectiveUS /ɡreɪt/
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
Hal
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
hardlyadverbUS /ˈhɑːrdli/
only a very short time before
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
heardadjectiveUS /hɜːrd/
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
hideverbUS /haɪd/
prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
housenounUS /haʊs/
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
joyousnessnoun
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
Kensington
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
knowverbUS /noʊ/
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
lifenounUS /laɪf/
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
LorrainenounUS /lərˈeɪn/
an eastern French region rich in iron-ore deposits
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
Lorraine's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
marriagenounUS /ˈmerɪdʒ/
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
MrsnounUS /ˈmɪsɪz/
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
nervousadjectiveUS /ˈnɜːrvəs/
easily agitated
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
NothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
occasionsnounUS /əˈkeɪʒənz/
something you have to do
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
onepronounUS /wʌn/
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was one of the few occasions in her life when Lorraine was nervous.
prettyadjectiveUS /ˈprɪti/
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
pronouncedadjectiveUS /prəˈnaʊnst/
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
shepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At first she could hardly bring herself to believe it at all.
shocknounUS /ʃɑːk/
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
somewhatadverbUS /ˈsʌmˈwʌt/
to a small degree or extent
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
sordidadjectiveUS /ˈsɔːrdəd/
morally degraded
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
stoodverbUS /stʊd/
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
thoroughlyadverbUS /ˈθɜːroʊli/
in an exhaustive manner
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
triumphnounUS /ˈtraɪəmf/
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
untilprepositionUS /ənˈtɪl/
up to a particular time
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
Vivian's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing thoroughly convinced her until she stood in the pretty Kensington house and beheld Mrs. Vivian’s pronounced air of triumph, and Lorraine’s somewhat forced attempts at joyousness.
wantverbUS /wɑːnt/
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
WhenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading When Hal came back from America and heard about Lorraine’s marriage, it was a great shock to her.
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She did not want Hal to know the sordid facts; and she did not believe she would be able to hide them from her.
