a. fairly large; in essentials; material; true or real; not imaginary; solidly built
You never had one shadow of substantial sorrow, Miss Catherine.
A table in the center was set with a good substantial breakfast.
A fact thus set down in substantial history cannot easily be gainsaid.
v. cause the downfall of; destroy property or hinder normal operations; corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality
a. having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome
The princess helps to make balls happy and successful.
But again there came upon me, for my relief, that odd impression that Herbert Pocket would never be very successful or rich.
I obey the first clause of the injunction by trying once more, but am not so successful with the second, for I am very stupid.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 4. I FALL INTO DISGRACE a. adequate; enough; being as much as is needed
But even human sympathies were not sufficient to satisfy his eager mind.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 18 The next morning, at daybreak, I summoned sufficient courage and unlocked the door of my laboratory.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 20 I had sufficient leisure for these and many other reflections during my journey to Ingolstadt, which was long and fatiguing.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 3 v. give a brief statement of the main points of something
a. not existing in nature or explanation according to natural laws
In my education my father had taken the greatest precautions that my mind should be impressed with no supernatural horrors.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 4 Unless I had been animated by an almost supernatural enthusiasm, my application to this study would have been irksome and almost intolerable.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 4 Instantly I felt a shock running through all my frame; nothing was to be seen, and nothing was to be heard; but a supernatural hand seemed placed in mine.
v. be placed in or take the room of; replace; make obsolete; make void or useless by superior power
Levin could not make out why the opposition was to ask the marshal to stand whom they wanted to supersede.
He grazed his cattle on these slopes, and he learned to dig for tin when the bronze sword began to supersede the stone axe.
The Hound of the Baskervilles By A. Conan DoyleContext Highlight In Chapter 7. The Stapletons of Merripit House This obscure, obsolete, superseded country figures in Domesday.
Return of the Native By Thomas HardyContext Highlight In BOOK 1: 1 A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression v. put down by force or authority; overwhelm; keep from being revealed
Dolly could scarcely suppress a smile.
Her son saw that she could not suppress a smile of delight.
I was smoking, and trying to suppress a rising tendency to shudder.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 24. MY FIRST DISSIPATION n. one who performs manual operations on a patient
Then he approached Mason, whom the surgeon was already handling.
Mr. Rochester entered, and with him the surgeon he had been to fetch.
The surgeon gave him a composing draught and ordered us to leave him undisturbed.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 24 v. guess; infer something without sufficiently conclusive evidence
Say not a word of it; hear nothing, surmise nothing, whisper nothing till I write again.
But more than that we were never destined to know, though there was much which we might surmise.
The Hound of the Baskervilles By A. Conan DoyleContext Highlight In Chapter 14. The Hound of the Baskervilles It were perhaps vain to surmise exactly why it was, that as respecting Starbuck, Ahab thus acted.
Moby Dick By Herman MelvilleContext Highlight In CHAPTER 109. Ahab and Starbuck in the Cabin. v. be or go beyond, as in degree or quality; exceed
Your rivals to surpass and merit fame.
will surpass anything ever seen on the American stage.
I confess that they quite surpass my expectations, and that I am utterly unable to account for your result.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In VII. The Adventure of The Reigate Squires ad. in a way that attempts to avoid notice or attention; secretively
The couple seated themselves on the opposite side, and intently but surreptitiously scrutinized her clothes.
And the fingers of William's left hand closed firmly, surreptitiously, as the hero approached.
But it was the part she did not read that tormented Scarlett, that drove her to surreptitious reading of her sister-in-law's mail.
n. uncertain cognitive state; uncertainty
The inside of the cottage was dark, and I heard no motion; I cannot describe the agony of this suspense.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 16 Everything in the expression, the flushed cheeks and the downcast eyes of Varenka betrayed a painful suspense.
I fancied that I could detect in his manner a consciousness of this, and a purpose of always holding her in suspense.
n. act of sustaining; something, especially food, that sustains life or health
Without any aid from the science of cookery, he was immediately employed, in common with his fellows, in gorging himself with this digestible sustenance.
The Last of the Mohicans By James Fenimore CooperContext Highlight In CHAPTER 11 He had an aversion to yielding so completely to his feelings, choosing rather to absent himself; and eating once in twenty-four hours seemed sufficient sustenance for him.
However, it was necessary to mention this matter, lest the world should think it impossible that I could find sustenance for three years in such a country, and among such inhabitants.
Gulliver's Travels(V2) By Jonathan SwiftContext Highlight In PART 4: CHAPTER II. n. a unit of spoken language larger than a phoneme
We interchanged that confidence without shaping a syllable.
The otherwise immovable Miss Murdstone laughed contemptuously in one short syllable.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 38. A DISSOLUTION OF PARTNERSHIP to Miss Lydia Bennet, without there being a syllable said of her father, or the place where she lived, or anything.
n. large orchestra; harmony, especially of sound or color
Mademoiselle had only disagreeable things to say of the symphony concerts, and insulting remarks to make of all the musicians of New Orleans, singly and collectively.
Monsieur Ratignolle stared a little, and turned to ask Mademoiselle Reisz if she considered the symphony concerts up to the standard which had been set the previous winter.
She reveled in the Art Institute, in symphonies and violin recitals and chamber music, in the theater and classic dancing.
a. having the same or a similar meaning; identical; equivalent
Mercedes had never known misery; she had often, in her youth, spoken of poverty, but between want and necessity, those synonymous words, there is a wide difference.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 106. Dividing the Proceeds. Though perhaps that is merely a synonym for mercenary.
Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously.
a. showing skill and sensitivity in dealing with people
And he was seldom tactful in doing it.
She was tactful, torrentially anecdotal.
Melanie, the most tactful of women, had tears in her eyes at her own cruelty.
n. someone who gossips indiscreetly
"No, Pa, I'm no tattletale like Suellen," she assured him, standing off to view his rearranged attire with a judicious air.
n. practical method or art applied to some particular task; skillfulness
Besides, he saw that if it came to talking about technique, it was impossible to praise him for it.
He had often heard this word technique, and was utterly unable to understand what was understood by it.
He had noticed often that even in actual praise technique was opposed to essential quality, as though one could paint well something that was bad.
n. apparent communication from one mind to another without using sensory perceptions
n. moderation or self-restraint, especially in eating and drinking; avoiding excesses
The Prior had his own reasons, however, for persevering in the course of temperance which he had adopted.
Yet Dives himself, he too lives like a Czar in an ice palace made of frozen sighs, and being a president of a temperance society, he only drinks the tepid tears of orphans.
It was my temper to avoid a crowd and to attach myself fervently to a few.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 2 n. trend; a general direction in which something tends to move
The tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free.
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel HawthorneContext Highlight In XVIII. A FLOOD OF SUNSHINE I was smoking, and trying to suppress a rising tendency to shudder.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 24. MY FIRST DISSIPATION A tendency to speculation, though it may keep women quiet, as it does man, yet makes her sad.
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel HawthorneContext Highlight In XIII. ANOTHER VIEW OF HESTER a. earthly, as opposed to celestial; pertaining to the land
Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life.
"That is what we must find out," returned Gaetano, fixing his eyes on this terrestrial star.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 31. Italy: Sinbad the Sailor. n. book of synonyms, often including related and contrasting words and antonyms
n. large group of people gathered or crowded closely together
murmur of amazement went through the throng, for.
Instant silence fell on the gay throng, and not a.
brilliant throng that filled the stately halls of Count.
a. so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
Her husband was simply a superfluous and tiresome person.
In the middle of the winter Vronsky spent a very tiresome week.
She did not sleep well, and is dreadfully tiresome today, said Dolly.
n. exhausting labor or effort; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey
I have an unknown amount of toil still to undergo.
I must struggle on: strive to live and bend to toil like the rest.
All the long day of toil had left no trace in them but lightness of heart.
n. the amount of activity over a communication system during a given period of time; buying and selling; especially illicit trade
She was battered by the noise and shuttling of the rush-hour traffic.
Occasionally it was loud enough to be heard even above the rattle of traffic at noon.
Night had now closed in, and the roar of traffic in Forty-second Street was dying out.
n. a verb that requires an object in order to be grammatical
The transition from libertine to prig was so complete.
There was only one stage in the transition from coldness to inspiration, at which work was possible.
From fire to oil was a natural transition for burned fingers, and Amy fell to painting with undiminished ardor.
n. an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
Amy was learning this distinction through much tribulation, for mistaking enthusiasm for inspiration, she attempted every branch of art with youthful audacity.
For my part, I abominate all honourable respectable toils, trials, and tribulations of every kind whatsoever.
In spite of all these trials and tribulations, Atlanta's ten thousand population had grown to double that number during the war.
n. the act of tying or binding things together
He was concentrated on tying an artery.
In a few moments, they succeeded in tying John.
In the hall, Scarlett saw a bonnet and put it on hurriedly, tying the ribbons under her chin.
n. oppression; cruel government; office or authority of an absolute ruler; absolute power
This guarded mode of existence was like living under a tyranny.
And here I may remark, that what I underwent from Mrs. Crupp, in consequence of the tyranny she established over me, was dreadful.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 28. Mr. MICAWBER'S GAUNTLET As the great day approached, all the tyranny that was in him came to the surface; he seemed to take a vindictive pleasure in punishing the least shortcomings.
a. uniform; in complete agreement
Then there was a unanimous call for an explanation.
A unanimous resolution was passed on the spot that the farmhouse should be preserved as a museum.
No other visitor appeared that evening, and the ladies were unanimous in agreeing to go early to bed.
a. unshaken in purpose; resolutely courageous
The guns, stolid and undaunted, spoke with dogged valor.
They were like beautiful birds strangely undaunted in a storm.
The lieutenant, who had listened with an air of impotent rage to the interview, spoke suddenly in firm and undaunted tones.
n. a garment worn under other garments
v. make too low an estimate of
I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have habitually underrated your own abilities.
The Hound of the Baskervilles By A. Conan DoyleContext Highlight In Chapter 1. Mr. Sherlock Holmes She had listened with calm contempt while these women had underrated the Confederate Army, blackguarded Jeff Davis and accused Southerners of murder and torture of their slaves.
a. smaller than normal for its kind
I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.
At any rate he was wretchedly sick and undersized; he had the rickets, and though he was over three years old, he was no bigger than an ordinary child of one.
ad. unquestionably; without doubt; certainly
That is a material consideration undoubtedly.
You consider it, undoubtedly, a handsome sum of money.
Willoughby may undoubtedly have very sufficient reasons for his conduct, and I will hope that he has.
a. impossible to forget; very memorable
He raised his hand to stop my words, looked at me with unforgettable reproach and opening the door cautiously went back into the other room.
a. disagreeable to the senses, to the mind, or feelings
I had heard some story of her too, a critical, unpleasant story, but what it was I had forgotten long ago.
But suspicion of something unpleasant is the inevitable consequence of such an alteration as we just witnessed in him.
There was one thing to be done before I left, an awkward, unpleasant thing that perhaps had better have been let alone.
a. grossly improper; indecent; in poor taste
And thereupon, at those words, the prince had all at once flown into a passion, and began to use unseemly language.
When he saw Eumaeus and Ulysses he reviled them with outrageous and unseemly language, which made Ulysses very angry.
began Amy, gesticulating with unseemly energy, but she got no further, for Jo quenched her by slamming down the window.
a. indefensible; not able to be maintained
The three windows were still untenanted.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 35. La Mazzolata. Finally, on the top corridor, which ran outside three untenanted bedrooms, he again was seized with a spasm of merriment.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In II. THE ADVENTURE OF THE NORWOOD BUILDER I had the further motive that Baskerville Hall, as the paper says, would certainly remain untenanted if anything were done to increase its already rather grim reputation.
The Hound of the Baskervilles By A. Conan DoyleContext Highlight In Chapter 2. The Curse of the Baskervilles ad. in a way that is not habitual or common
But Mrs. Gummidge was not the only person there who was unusually excited.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 21. LITTLE EM'LY Her face was very friendly and her sharp voice unusually gentle as she said.
At teatime they compared notes, and all agreed that it had been a delightful, though unusually long day.
v. lift forcefully from beneath
He had dwelt in a land of strange, squalling upheavals and had come forth.
He could not think at all, he was stunned; yet he knew that in the mighty upheaval that had taken place in his soul, a new man had been born.
Suddenly the waters around them slowly swelled in broad circles; then quickly upheaved, as if sideways sliding from a submerged berg of ice, swiftly rising to the surface.
Moby Dick By Herman MelvilleContext Highlight In CHAPTER 135. The Chase.—Third Day. ad. in or into the highest position; in or into the most prominent position, as in the mind; at or nearest to the top
If her heart chance to come uppermost, they vanish.
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel HawthorneContext Highlight In XIII. ANOTHER VIEW OF HESTER It had four steps, and a stone to cross over when you came to the uppermost.
The sense of these doubts was uppermost when, late one afternoon, she was surprised by a visit from Lawrence Selden.
v. pull up; displace; destroy completely, as if down to the roots; eradicate
The root was black, while the flower was as white as milk; the gods call it Moly, and mortal men cannot uproot it, but the gods can do whatever they like.
They were rolling up the lake and uprooting the bulrushes.
They have broken our health, uprooted our lives and unsettled our habits.
v. shift to clockwise direction; turn sharply; change direction abruptly
He glanced quickly at the hut, half-saluted, then veered aside and went on to the coops.
Occasionally when the slight breeze veered, puffs of smoke from the long barbecue pits floated over the crowd and were greeted with squeals of mock dismay from the ladies and violent flappings of palmetto fans.
n. punishment inflicted in return for an injury or an offense; retribution
Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 16 He might remain in Switzerland and wreak his vengeance on my relatives.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 19 Therefore, as a man who has not thought and philosophised in vain, I seek no vengeance, plot no evil against thee.
a. troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances; causing difficulty in finding an answer or solution; much disputed
I was vexed with you for getting out of my sight.
She felt positively vexed with her for getting better from the very moment her letter was sent off.
During the last fortnight, some new trouble has vexed her; and she has been in and out of London every day.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 54. Mr. MICAWBER'S TRANSACTIONS n. bridge consisting of a series of arches supported by piers used to carry a road or railroad over a valley
v. strive for victory or superiority; contend; compete
They took the clothes out of the waggon, put them in the water, and vied with one another in treading them in the pits to get the dirt out.
Suddenly the beast extended its arms, or rather legs, and inclosed him in a grasp that might have vied with the far-famed power of the "bear's hug" itself.
The Last of the Mohicans By James Fenimore CooperContext Highlight In CHAPTER 25 a. animated; lively; vigorous and active
Like most shy men he greatly admired airy, vivacious, always-at-ease girls like Scarlett.
At supper Melanie surprised them all by forcing herself out of her timidity and being almost vivacious.
They were merely indulging in the ordinary vivacious chat of relatives who have long been parted in person though not in soul.
Return of the Native By Thomas HardyContext Highlight In BOOK 2: 3 How a Little Sound Produced a Great Dream n. the act of operating on living animals, especially in scientific research
a. large in volume or bulk; large in number or quantity, especially of discourse
Miss La Trobe pulled the voluminous flounces of the Victorian age over her head.
For a year Jo and her Professor worked and waited, hoped and loved, met occasionally, and wrote such voluminous letters that the rise in the price of paper was accounted for, Laurie said.
She entered, and behind her, almost hidden by her voluminous calico skirts, came her twelve-year-old daughter, squirming against her mother's legs.
a. ravenous; excessively greedy and grasping; devouring or craving food in great quantities
She had wakened the sleeping dogs of old voracious anger in him, anger against the self-willed female.
He walked up to the sideboard, and tearing a piece from the loaf he devoured it voraciously, washing it down with a long draught of water.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In V. THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS She stalked across the littered yard and climbed into the buggy, noticing with grim satisfaction that the men were tearing at the ham and cramming bits into their mouths voraciously.
ad. in a way that shows a lack of trust; suspiciously; cautiously; carefully
Gray old Laska, who had followed them, sat down warily opposite him and pricked up her ears.
At the stairs where we had taken him abroad, and ever since, I had looked warily for any token of our being suspected.
He sat down and took a long rest, torturing himself meanwhile to keep awake, and then started warily down the home-stretch.
a. suggesting war or military life; disposed to warfare or hard-line policies
Had he known that it was no warlike hero, but a little tailor who was standing before him, it would have gone to his heart still more than it did.
Grimms' Fairy Tales By The Brothers GrimmContext Highlight In THE VALIANT LITTLE TAILOR Over his ivory-inlaid table, Ahab presided like a mute, maned sea-lion on the white coral beach, surrounded by his warlike but still deferential cubs.
Montcalm, who felt that his influence over the warlike tribes he had gathered was to be maintained by concession rather than by power, complied reluctantly with the other's request.
The Last of the Mohicans By James Fenimore CooperContext Highlight In CHAPTER 17 n. an amateur boxer who weighs no more than 148 pounds
v. cajole; coax; deceive by flattery
He was crossing you and wheedling you, I saw; and you were soft wax in his hands, I saw.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 32. THE BEGINNING OF A LONG JOURNEY You always find some new way of wheedling money out of me, and, as soon as you have got it, it seems to melt in your hands.
Laurie came every day, and wheedled Aunt March till Amy was allowed to go out with him, when they walked and rode and had capital times.
n. the general location where something is
I wonder whereabouts they will upset to-day.
Nothing is known of the whereabouts of Stangerson.
A Study In Scarlet By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In PART I: CHAPTER VI. TOBIAS GREGSON SHOWS WHAT HE CAN DO There was no clue at all, however, as to their whereabouts.
A Study In Scarlet By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In PART II: CHAPTER V. THE AVENGING ANGELS n. a flat stone for sharpening edged tools or knives
The metallic clank of a whetstone against a scythe, that came to them from the cart, ceased.
I dropped pap's whetstone there too, so as to look like it had been done by accident.
The very next day Yeobright went to Humphrey's cottage, and borrowed of him leggings, gloves, a whetstone, and a hook, to use till he should be able to purchase some for himself.
Return of the Native By Thomas HardyContext Highlight In BOOK 4: 2 He Is Set upon by Adversities but He Sings a Song n. the art of sorcery; the practice of magic, especially black magic
They believe in the evil eye, and in witchcraft and omens, while we.
At first the Hurons believed the Delaware had been thus deformed by witchcraft.
The Last of the Mohicans By James Fenimore CooperContext Highlight In CHAPTER 27 "The little baggage hath witchcraft in her, I profess," said he to Mr. Dimmesdale.
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel HawthorneContext Highlight In VIII. THE ELF-CHILD AND THE MINISTER n. angry dispute; noisy quarrel; altercation
It seemed that the cannon had come from all parts and were engaged in a stupendous wrangle.
We have a few moments to spare; let us not waste them in talk like wrangling women.
The well-groomed showy dogs of amusement wrangled and snarled among themselves for the favours of the bitch-goddess.
v. obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically
She was going to rush into life and wrest from it what she could.
But here are your bonds; pay me differently; and he held the bonds towards Danglars, who seized them like a vulture extending its claws to withhold the food that is being wrested from its grasp.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 104. Danglars Signature. The Huron chief, after casting the weapons he had wrested from his companions over the rock, drew his knife, and turned to his captive, with a look in which conflicting passions fiercely contended.
The Last of the Mohicans By James Fenimore CooperContext Highlight In CHAPTER 32 v. to move in a twisting or contorted motion, especially when struggling
Holmes was outwardly calm, but his whole body gave a wriggle of suppressed excitement as he spoke.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In II. THE ADVENTURE OF THE NORWOOD BUILDER When I hear Mrs Bolton talk, I feel myself plunging down, down, to the depths where the fish of human secrets wriggle and swim.
In man or fish, wriggling is a sign of inferiority.