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 It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
all
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
almost
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
aspen
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
bright
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
carefulness
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
changed
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From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
chief
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From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
consciousness
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
crying
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
death
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
draperies
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
everythingpronounUS /ˈevriθɪŋ/
all things; all of a situation
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
failure
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
father
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
feelings
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
flirt
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
fluttered
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
foolish
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
giggling
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
girls
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
greatnounUS /great/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
grief
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
hearnounUS /hear/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
IpronounUS /aɪ/
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
ItpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
laughing
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
leaves
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
Lettie
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
like
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
lived
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
lives
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
man
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
new
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
notes
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
relations
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
seemednounUS /seemed/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
sentimentality
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
shepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
sought
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
sound
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
suffered
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
there
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
tittering
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
trouble
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
unanswered
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
water
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
wepronounUS /wiː/
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading It was not that we suffered a great grief; the chief trouble was the unanswered crying of failure.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But we were changed in our feelings and in our relations; there was a new consciousness, a new carefulness.
whopronounUS /huː/
which person or people
From this reading The death of the man who was our father changed our lives.
wood-pigeons
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
woods
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had lived between the woods and the water all our lives, Lettie and I, and she had sought the bright notes in everything.
young
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She seemed to hear the water laughing, and the leaves tittering and giggling like young girls; the aspen fluttered like the draperies of a flirt, and the sound of the wood-pigeons was almost foolish in its sentimentality.
