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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 XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
age
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From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
andeterminerUS /æn/
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
become
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
business
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From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
ByprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
character
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From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
commonplace
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
competition
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From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
conciliating
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
cringing
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
CURSE
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
customers
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
day
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
distinguish
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
essentially
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
EVE
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
evernounUS /ever/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
face
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From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
feature
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
gentleman's
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From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
greatnounUS /great/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading No great question had ever stirred him.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
HepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
hope
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
Johnson
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
leftnounUS /left/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
littlenounUS /little/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
looks
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From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
machine
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
man
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
married
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From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
million
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
neutral
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From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
New
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From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
nodeterminerUS /noʊ/
not any; not one
From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
North
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
OFprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
opinions
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From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
ordinary
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From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
others
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
out
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From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
outfitter
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
pale
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From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
pliable
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
questionnounUS /ˈquestion/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading No great question had ever stirred him.
rather
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
Road
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
Robert
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
routine
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
samenounUS /same/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
seemednounUS /seemed/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
soulless
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
squeezed
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From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
stirred
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From this reading No great question had ever stirred him.
sunk
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
thirty
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
trade
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By trade he was a gentleman's outfitter in the New North Road, and the competition of business squeezed out of him the little character that was left.
untilprepositionUS /ənˈtɪl/
up to a particular time
From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
working
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From this reading In his hope of conciliating customers he had become cringing and pliable, until working ever in the same routine from day to day he seemed to have sunk into a soulless machine rather than a man.
XI
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From this reading XI THE CURSE OF EVE Robert Johnson was an essentially commonplace man, with no feature to distinguish him from a million others.
years
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From this reading He was pale of face, ordinary in looks, neutral in opinions, thirty years of age, and a married man.
