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Notwithstanding
Notwithstanding

Chapter XIII

Cover illustration for Notwithstanding
Context Illustration Reading 1/29 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"O Life, how naked and how hard when known!
Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."
GEORGE MEREDITH.
Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.
She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Notwithstanding

Chapter XIII

Reading 1/29 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"O Life, how naked and how hard when known!
Line 2
Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."
Line 3
GEORGE MEREDITH.
Line 4
Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.
Line 5
She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.”

Hand noun US /hand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.”

Hast auxiliary verb US /hæst/

an old form of “have”, used with “thou”

From this reading “Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."”

Hear noun US /hear/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.”

Life noun US /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"O Life, how naked and how hard when known!”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.”

Thou pronoun US /ðaʊ/

an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person

From this reading “Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.”

All words in this reading · 50

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading "O Life, how naked and how hard when known!

AsconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."

bedroom

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

candle

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

carved

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."

clatter

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

dining-room

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

forks

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

GEORGE

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading GEORGE MEREDITH.

hand

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

hard

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "O Life, how naked and how hard when known!

Harry's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

hastauxiliary verbUS /hæst/

an old form of “have”, used with “thou”

From this reading Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."

hearnounUS /hear/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

how

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "O Life, how naked and how hard when known!

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

Janey

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

knives

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

known

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "O Life, how naked and how hard when known!

laugh

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

LifenounUS /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "O Life, how naked and how hard when known!

lit

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."

MEREDITH

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading GEORGE MEREDITH.

naked

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "O Life, how naked and how hard when known!

Nurse's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

O

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "O Life, how naked and how hard when known!

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

said

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."

sharp

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

slowly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

thoupronounUS /ðaʊ/

an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person

From this reading Life said, As thou hast carved me, such am I."

trembled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

turn

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

upstairs

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

vacant

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

voice

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She could hear the clatter of knives and forks in the dining-room, and Harry's vacant laugh, and Nurse's sharp voice.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading "O Life, how naked and how hard when known!

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Janey lit her bedroom candle with a hand that trembled a little, and in her turn went slowly upstairs.