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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 Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
account
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
acts
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
aim
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From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
all
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
always
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
andeterminerUS /æn/
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
becauseconjunctionUS /bɪˈkɔːz/
for the reason that
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
biographer
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
Biography
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From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The result is a wax dummy, as smooth as glass but as unalive as a dill pickle.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
cause
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
coherence
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
completenounUS /complete/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
complexity
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From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
detail
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
dill
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From this reading The result is a wax dummy, as smooth as glass but as unalive as a dill pickle.
displayed
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From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
dummy
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From this reading The result is a wax dummy, as smooth as glass but as unalive as a dill pickle.
effect
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From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
exhaustion
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From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
explain
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
fact
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
fails
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From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
get
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From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
give
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
glass
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From this reading The result is a wax dummy, as smooth as glass but as unalive as a dill pickle.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
ideas
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
illumination
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
impenetrable
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From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
Italic
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From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
ItsdeterminerUS /ɪts/
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
knownounUS /know/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
lies
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
like
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From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
makenounUS /make/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
man
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From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
mepronounUS /miː/
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
mistakes
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
mystery
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From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
nodeterminerUS /noʊ/
not any; not one
From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
notions
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From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
often
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From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
people
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From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
pickle
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From this reading The result is a wax dummy, as smooth as glass but as unalive as a dill pickle.
picture
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From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
present
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From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
process
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From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
psychology
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
really
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From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
result
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The result is a wax dummy, as smooth as glass but as unalive as a dill pickle.
seems
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
smooth
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The result is a wax dummy, as smooth as glass but as unalive as a dill pickle.
soconjunctionUS /soʊ/
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
text
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From this reading Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Biography fails, like psychology, because it so often mistakes complexity for illumination
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
tries
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
unalive
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The result is a wax dummy, as smooth as glass but as unalive as a dill pickle.
unbroken
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From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
usually
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From this reading Its aim is to present a complete picture of a man; its effect is usually to make an impenetrable mystery of him.
utterly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cause of this, it seems to me, lies in the fact that the biographer always tries to explain him utterly, to account for him in every detail, to give an unbroken coherence to all his acts and ideas.
wax
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The result is a wax dummy, as smooth as glass but as unalive as a dill pickle.
wepronounUS /wiː/
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading It is by no such process of exhaustion that we get our notions of the people we really know.
