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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
Agnes
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From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
all
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From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
almost
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From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
always
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From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
amongprepositionUS /əˈmʌŋ/
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
artauxiliary verbUS /ɑːrt/
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
booksnounUS /bʊks/
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
critical
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From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
Dean
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From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
dexter
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From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
difficult
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From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
easily
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From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
Edith
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From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
emerges
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From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
evennounUS /even/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
exclusively
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From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
female
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From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
feminine
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From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
fiction
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From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
find
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From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
first-ratenounUS /ˈfirst-rate/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
fortuitous
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From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
Henry
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From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
Howells
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From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
imaginenounUS /ˈimagine/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
InprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
James
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
leastnounUS /least/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
line
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From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
made
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From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
majorities
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From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
male
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
man
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From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
masculine
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From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
Mrs
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From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
novelist
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
novelists
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
obscurity
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From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
once
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From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
OnepronounUS /wʌn/
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
plucking
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From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
Repplier
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
said
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
single
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
some
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
States
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
string
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
typically
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
United
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
unmade
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
uspronounUS /ʌs/
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The art of fiction among us, as Henry James once said, "is almost exclusively feminine."
Watts
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
Wharton
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
WhenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading When a first-rate novelist emerges from obscurity it is almost always by some fortuitous plucking of the dexter string.
William
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the books of such a man as William Dean Howells it is difficult to find a single line that is typically and exclusively masculine.
women
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the United States, at least, novelists are made and unmade, not by critical majorities, but by women, male and female.
writing
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One could easily imagine Edith Wharton, or Mrs. Watts, or even Agnes Repplier, writing all of them.
