used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
(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 A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
ambushverbUS /ˈæmbʊʃ/
wait in hiding to attack
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
anguishnounUS /ˈæŋɡwɪʃ/
extreme mental distress
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
broodingnounUS /ˈbruːdɪŋ/
sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
confusedlyadverb
in a confused manner
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
conspiringverbUS /kənˈspaɪrɪŋ/
-ing form of “conspire” — engage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
distressesnounUS /dɪˈstresɪz/
plural of “distress” — psychological suffering
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading Her suspicions were so terrifying that she had feared to see a doctor.
an opposing military force
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Her suspicions were so terrifying that she had feared to see a doctor.
firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
the soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate: mainly muscle tissue and fat
From this reading A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
jarverbUS /dʒɑːr/
be incompatible; be or come into conflict
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
javelins
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
not any; not one
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
Patty'snounUS /ˈpætiz/
possessive form of “patty” — small flat mass of chopped food
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
pushingnounUS /ˈpʊʃɪŋ/
the act of applying force in order to move something away
From this reading A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
rootsnounUS /ruːts/
the condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage
From this reading A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Her suspicions were so terrifying that she had feared to see a doctor.
shaftsnounUS /ʃæfts/
plural of “shaft” — a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her suspicions were so terrifying that she had feared to see a doctor.
silkenadjectiveUS /ˈsɪlkən/
having a smooth, gleaming surface reflecting light
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Her suspicions were so terrifying that she had feared to see a doctor.
not in physical motion
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
subtleadjectiveUS /ˈsʌtəl/
difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
suspicionsnounUS /səˈspɪʃənz/
plural of “suspicion” — an impression that something might be the case
From this reading Her suspicions were so terrifying that she had feared to see a doctor.
terrifyingadjectiveUS /ˈterəfaɪɪŋ/
causing extreme terror
From this reading Her suspicions were so terrifying that she had feared to see a doctor.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
tulipnounUS /ˈtuːləp/
any of numerous perennial bulbous herbs having linear or broadly lanceolate leaves and usually a single showy flower
From this reading A tulip tree, a tree of death was pushing its roots all through her flesh.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
warnverbUS /wɔːrn/
notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading There had been no pain at first and nothing to warn her that life was confusedly conspiring against itself.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Then there were subtle distresses, strange shafts of anguish like javelins thrown from ambush.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading Within the silken walls of Patty’s body, still beautiful as a jar of rose leaves, a secret enemy was brooding, building.
