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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 The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
arrived
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From this reading The day of the warhead arrived.
Arzachel
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From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
blues
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From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
box
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From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
brilliant
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
brittleadjectiveUS /ˈbrɪtəl/
hard but easily broken
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
cold
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
comenounUS /come/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
Crater
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From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
crescent
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From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
cross
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From this reading Measured against the incalculable scale of space distances the rocket had but a relative inch to cross.
dawn
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From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
day
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The day of the warhead arrived.
distances
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From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
earth
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
gleamed
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From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
gripped
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Measured against the incalculable scale of space distances the rocket had but a relative inch to cross.
hard
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
hot
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
incalculable
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Measured against the incalculable scale of space distances the rocket had but a relative inch to cross.
inch
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Measured against the incalculable scale of space distances the rocket had but a relative inch to cross.
intolerable
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From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
light
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
longer
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From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
lunar
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From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
lying
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From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
Measured
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Measured against the incalculable scale of space distances the rocket had but a relative inch to cross.
Night
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From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
nodeterminerUS /noʊ/
not any; not one
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The day of the warhead arrived.
paled
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
purple-black
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
reds
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
relative
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Measured against the incalculable scale of space distances the rocket had but a relative inch to cross.
rocket
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Measured against the incalculable scale of space distances the rocket had but a relative inch to cross.
scale
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Measured against the incalculable scale of space distances the rocket had but a relative inch to cross.
sky
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
space
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
stars
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
stillnounUS /still/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
suns
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The day of the warhead arrived.
TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
thinadjectiveUS /θɪn/
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
unimaginable
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
universe
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
vast
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
warhead
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The day of the warhead arrived.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
whispered
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
whosedeterminerUS /huːz/
belonging to which person
From this reading The earth was a thin crescent in the sky whose light no longer paled the stars.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
yellows
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They gleamed, hard and brittle against the purple-black of space, the reds and yellows and brilliant hot blues of suns lying at unimaginable distances in the vast box of the universe.
zodiacal
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Night still gripped Crater Arzachel with its intolerable cold, but a zodiacal light in the sky whispered of a lunar dawn to come.
