v. put out a fire; extinguish; put an end to; destroy
She was conscious herself that her delight sparkled in her eyes and curved her lips into a smile, and she could not quench the expression of this delight.
The Grand Master was a man advanced in age, as was testified by his long grey beard, and the shaggy grey eyebrows overhanging eyes, of which, however, years had been unable to quench the fire.
As he stood there, trying to quench his fiery face with his drink of water, the comparison between the orator and the crowd of attentive faces turned towards him, was extremely to his disadvantage.
n. inquiry; doubt in the mind; mental reservation
Lily met this query with an impatient gesture.
But Hester could not resolve the query, being herself in a dismal labyrinth of doubt.
She paused a moment before the last name, and shot a query through her lashes; but he remained imperturbable.
n. act of searching for something
On the following evening I went into London in quest of him.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 46. INTELLIGENCE I wondered what he sought there: his words soon explained the quest.
Elizabeth walked in quest of the only face whose features would be known to her.
v. shake with slight, rapid, tremulous movement
I comfort myself with that, said Amy with a little quiver in her voice.
A few steps brought them to the spring, and Tom felt a shudder quiver all through him.
The Mouse gave a sudden leap out of the water, and seemed to quiver all over with fright.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland By Lewis CarrollContext Highlight In CHAPTER II. The Pool of Tears a. idealistic without regard to practicality
n. pleasantry or slight satire; banter; jesting language; satirical merriment
Excitement instantly seized the whole party: a running fire of raillery and jests was proceeding when Sam returned.
And with this raillery Andrea went out, leaving the two girls a prey to their own feelings of shame, and to the comments of the crowd.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 98. The Bell and Bottle Tavern. Darya Alexandrovna saw that Anna disliked the tone of raillery that existed between her and Veslovsky, but fell in with it against her will.
n. violent or riotous behavior; state of excitement, passion, or debauchery
It was the prospect of the Yankee soldiers on a rampage again that frightened her.
But unfortunately Demi's most unconquerable prejudice was against going to bed, and that night he decided to go on a rampage.
a. unrestrained and violent; occurring without restraint
Strangers, modest enough elsewhere, started up at dinners in Coketown, and boasted, in quite a rampant way, of Bounderby.
Of course it was uphill work at first, and Jo made queer mistakes, but the wise Professor steered her safely into calmer waters, and the most rampant ragamuffin was conquered in the end.
n. release of property or person in return for payment of a demanded price; price paid for such release
It is a trifling ransom, Saxon, and thou wilt owe gratitude to the moderation which accepts of it in exchange of your persons.
Tell down thy ransom, I say, and rejoice that at such rate thou canst redeem thee from a dungeon, the secrets of which few have returned to tell.
Carlini flew joyfully to Rita, telling her she was saved, and bidding her write to her father, to inform him what had occurred, and that her ransom was fixed at three hundred piastres.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 33. Roman Bandits. n. allotment; allowance; portion; allot; distribute in rations
The corn ration was drastically reduced, and it was announced that an extra potato ration would be issued to make up for it.
Napoleon then led them back to the store-shed and served out a double ration of corn to everybody, with two biscuits for each dog.
She did not quite understand it herself; did not know that in the Bjornstams she found her friends, her club, her sympathy and her ration of blessed cynicism.
n. sharp-edged cutting instrument used especially for shaving the face or other body parts
Ethan laid down the razor and straightened himself with a laugh.
Ethan, glaring at his face in the glass, threw his head back to draw the razor from ear to chin.
This weapon is always kept as sharp as possible; and when being used is occasionally honed, just like a razor.
Moby Dick By Herman MelvilleContext Highlight In CHAPTER 66. The Shark Massacre. a. concerning each of two or more persons or things; exchangeable; interacting
Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming discontented face.
She saw their sashes untied, their hair pulled about their ears, their work-bags searched, and their knives and scissors stolen away, and felt no doubt of its being a reciprocal enjoyment.
The absolute solitude in which they lived intensified their reciprocal thoughts; yet some might have said that it had the disadvantage of consuming their mutual affections at a fearfully prodigal rate.
Return of the Native By Thomas HardyContext Highlight In BOOK 4: 1 The Rencounter by the Pool n. act of reconciling, or state of being reconciled; reconcilement; restoration to harmony; renewal of friendship
It was grandfather who brought about a reconciliation with the Shimerdas.
From his tone both Kitty and Anna knew that a reconciliation had taken place.
Her relations with Stepan Arkadyevitch after their reconciliation had become humiliating.
n. gain information about enemy; inspection or exploration of an area
v. narrate or tell; count over again
I recount to you a joke but eet eez a true story.
Alas, I have still to recount the most distressing period of my life.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 45. The Rain of Blood. As we walked to and fro, all four together, before breakfast, I deemed it right to recount what I had seen.
v. throw or bend back light from a surface; give back or show an image of; mirror
Yet it is terrible to reflect that the lives of all these men are endangered through me.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 24 This passion is detrimental to me, for you do not reflect that YOU are the cause of its excess.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 17 I paused some time to reflect on all he had related and the various arguments which he had employed.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 17 n. sovereignty; rule; dominance or widespread influence
Given at our palace at Belfaborac, the twelfth day of the ninety-first moon of our reign.
Gulliver's Travels(V1) By Jonathan SwiftContext Highlight In PART 1: CHAPTER III. Then he left the country and went to Argos, where it was ordained that he should reign over much people.
My mother used to tell me of a millennium that was coming, when Christ should reign, and all men should be free and happy.
v. give more force or effectiveness to; strengthen; enhance
Both the militia and the Home Guards are going to be sent in to reinforce General Johnston.
At the sight there was a general reining up of horses and unslinging of guns, while fresh horsemen came galloping up to reinforce the vanguard.
A Study In Scarlet By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In PART II: CHAPTER I. ON THE GREAT ALKALI PLAIN Her dread of returning to a sleepless night was so great that she lingered on, hoping that excessive weariness would reinforce the waning power of the chloral.
v. turn down; refuse to accept; dismiss from consideration
Like all other joys, she rejected it as sin.
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel HawthorneContext Highlight In V. HESTER AT HER NEEDLE I tried to comfort her on this point, but she rejected consolation.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 23. I CORROBORATE Mr. DICK, AND CHOOSE A PROFESSI... he could not conceive what would become of him if he were rejected.
v. feel joy; experience gladness in a high degree; have pleasurable satisfaction; be delighted; enjoy
When Elinor had ceased to rejoice in the dryness of the season, a very awful pause took place.
And the single-hearted and full expression of public opinion is the service of the press and a phenomenon to rejoice us at the same time.
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Letter 1 a. worthy of being depended on; trustworthy
The Sperm Whale blows as a clock ticks, with the same undeviating and reliable uniformity.
I have spoken with this policeman to-night and he appears to me to be a perfectly reliable person.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In V. THE ADVENTURE OF THE PRIORY SCHOOL Miss Van Osburgh was a large girl with flat surfaces and no high lights: Jack Stepney had once said of her that she was as reliable as roast mutton.
n. pain of a guilty conscience; feeling of deep regret
A frightful selfishness hurried me on, while my heart was poisoned with remorse.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 24 The agonies of remorse poison the luxury there is otherwise sometimes found in indulging the excess of grief.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 22 The blood flowed freely in my veins, but a weight of despair and remorse pressed on my heart which nothing could remove.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 9 v. deliver;give or make available; provide; represent in a drawing or painting
Miserable himself that he may render no other wretched, he ought to die.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 24 You may render me the most miserable of men, but you shall never make me base in my own eyes.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 17 This faith gives a solemnity to his reveries that render them to me almost as imposing and interesting as truth.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 24 v. restore or return to the country of birth, citizenship, or origin
v. force or drive back; disgust; offer resistance to; fight against
But the shock was insufficient to repel the impetus of the charge.
The Last of the Mohicans By James Fenimore CooperContext Highlight In CHAPTER 32 It may be very true, sir; but we are now obliged to repel art by art.
The Last of the Mohicans By James Fenimore CooperContext Highlight In CHAPTER 16 Your commandant is a brave man, and well qualified to repel my assault.
The Last of the Mohicans By James Fenimore CooperContext Highlight In CHAPTER 15 n. lack of enthusiasm; skeptical caution; something saved for future use; self-restraint in expression
Her manners were attaching, and soon banished his reserve.
I think that he would have acknowledged anything, now, without reserve, but he wanted to talk about Daisy.
He received the kindest welcome from her; and shyness, coldness, reserve could not stand against such a reception.
v. keep under control; hold back ; place limits on
With an effort I managed to restrain my incredulous laughter.
Oblonsky could not restrain a slight mocking smile at the sight of Levin.
Kitty saw that Varenka could hardly restrain a smile at the idea that she needed an escort.
v. keep or confine within limits
In the new public law courts he disliked the restrictions laid on the lawyers conducting cases.
She paused before him with a smile which seemed at once designed to admit him to her familiarity, and to remind him of the restrictions it imposed.
For the last year and a half I have not had a hand in anything dishonourable, amid all that time I have been struggling in most restricted circumstances.
v. keep; maintain possession of; hire by payment of a fee; keep in mind; remember
For them he has no use: I retain them.
I will retain my post of mistress till you get a substitute.
I want a wife: the sole helpmeet I can influence efficiently in life, and retain absolutely till death.
n. receding; pull back or move away or backward; withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position
He bowed, and was meaning to retreat.
He sat down again, waiting for other visitors to arrive, in order to retreat unnoticed.
The sun rose; I heard the voices of men and knew that it was impossible to return to my retreat during that day.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 16 v. recover; find and bring in; get back
He bent suddenly to retrieve his hat and she had one glimpse of his face.
Mellors pushed steadily behind, and up she went, as if to retrieve herself.
Every time she bent over to retrieve them, the hem of the dress fell in the mud.
v. turn or roll round on, or as on, an axis, like a wheel; rotate; move in curved path round a center; pass in cycles
In a minute or two, however, it began slowly to revolve, and then the men upon each side of it sprang to work.
They were like those double stars which revolve round and round each other, and from a distance appear to be one.
Return of the Native By Thomas HardyContext Highlight In BOOK 4: 1 The Rencounter by the Pool I thought to find one stubborn, at the least; but my one cogged circle fits into all their various wheels, and they revolve.
a. stiff and unyielding; strict; hard and unbending; not flexible
Miss Murdstone gave me her chilly finger-nails, and sat severely rigid.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 38. A DISSOLUTION OF PARTNERSHIP The discipline of the family in those days was of a far more rigid kind than now.
Always proceeding from a rigid mouth and closed teeth, as if the jaw were locked and the face frozen up in pain.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 56. THE NEW WOUND, AND THE OLD n. strictness or severity, as in temperament, action, or judgment; something hard to endure
As he went out into the rigorous night, I saw the lonely figure flit away before us.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 40. THE WANDERER Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.
The speaker looked round upon the bystanders, now drawing closer to hear him, with his lips gathered tighter than ever in the rigorousness of his descriptive moderation.
Return of the Native By Thomas HardyContext Highlight In BOOK 1: 3 The Custom of the Country n. gnawing; biting; corroding; any of various mammals of rodent, such as a mouse, rat, squirrel,
v. plant or grow in a fixed cyclic order of succession; swirl; revolve; turn on or around an axis or a center
It was during the more pleasant weather, that in due rotation with the other seamen my first mast-head came round.
v. fall or tumble down; destroy; devastate; exterminate
The father of Safie had been the cause of their ruin.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 14 Leave this wreck and ruin here where it hath happened.
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel HawthorneContext Highlight In XVII. THE PASTOR AND HIS PARISHIONER Here was another ruin, the responsibility of which came partly home to her.
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel HawthorneContext Highlight In XIV. HESTER AND THE PHYSICIAN v. save from loss or destruction; rescue of a ship; save for further use
Here and there, frightened servants carried silver pitchers, knives and forks and a family portrait or two which had been salvaged in the first fight.
It's hard to salvage jettisoned cargo and, if it is retrieved, it's usually irreparably damaged.
The ones who come back last won't find a stick or stone or brick of their houses, because everybody's out salvaging things all over town to rebuild their houses.
n. place of refuge or asylum; shrine; holy place, such as a church, temple, or mosque
The work was her one refuge, her sanctuary.
It was a jumble, but also it was a sort of little sanctuary.
Villefort, Franz, and a few near relatives alone entered the sanctuary.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 74. The Villefort Family Vault. a. relating to health or the protection of health
I was at first inclined to associate it with the sanitary apparatus of these people.
As seen from Main Street, Oleson & McGuire's Meat Market had a sanitary and virtuous expression with its new tile counter, fresh sawdust on the floor, and a hanging veal cut in rosettes.
v. run with speed; run or move in a quick, hurried manner; hasten away
Others began to scamper away through the smoke.
They trampled slowly back over the field across which they had run in a mad scamper.
Bundles of candles were procured, and straightway there was a general scamper up the hill.
v. mock; ridicule; show or express scorn; eat quickly and greedily
v. scrub; clean, polish, or wash by scrubbing vigorously; wear away; search through or over thoroughly
It had been her intention to send Pork out with the horse and wagon, the gold pieces and the United States money to scour the countryside for provisions and material for clothes.
Rewards had been offered, the country had been scoured, but no Injun Joe was found.
Charley and I scoured them, and they were on exhibition in the Harling office all summer.
a. nice; particular; fastidious; excellent; fine
Probably the lumber-yard isn't as scrumptious as all these Greek temples.
v. shuffle; fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters; wrestle in a rough fashion
His whole existence was a scuffle.
I heard oaths and the confused sounds of a scuffle.
A Study In Scarlet By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In PART I: CHAPTER VI. TOBIAS GREGSON SHOWS WHAT HE CAN DO The youth and his friend had a small scuffle over the flag.
v. go with light running steps; move about or proceed hurriedly
He was damned glad it was over--the scurry and the scuffle, the rouge and the rings.
Thus, many men of courage, he considered, would be obliged to desert the colors and scurry like chickens.
The chair gave a sort of scurry, reeled on a few more yards, and came to her end amid a particularly promising patch of bluebells.
a. torn or worn to rage; poor; mean; ragged
His clothes were shabby, but he had an imposing shirt-collar on.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 11. I BEGIN LIFE ON MY OWN ACCOUNT, AND DON'T LIK... I was not afraid of the shabby coat, and had no yearnings after gallant greys.
I know that I worked, from morning until night, with common men and boys, a shabby child.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 11. I BEGIN LIFE ON MY OWN ACCOUNT, AND DON'T LIK... v. enclose with protective covering; encase; cover up or hide
A sheath-knife, still in its sheath.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In VI. THE ADVENTURE OF BLACK PETER Every one looked at Carlini; the sheath at his belt was empty.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 33. Roman Bandits. He had not time to get it from the sheath before I had the harpoon through him.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In VI. THE ADVENTURE OF BLACK PETER v. get rid of ; cast off; cause to pour forth
Mr. Micawber pressed my hand, and groaned, and afterwards shed tears.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 12. LIKING LIFE ON MY OWN ACCOUNT NO BETTER, I FO... Many were the tears shed by them in their last adieus to a place so much beloved.
I had unchained an enemy among them whose joy it was to shed their blood and to revel in their groans.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 22 n. a small amount; a long, narrow piece cut or torn off; long irregular strip that is cut or torn off
She did not taste the shreds of roast pork.
I am sure you did not, for a duster would have swept away these shreds of varnish.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In X. THE ADVENTURE OF THE GOLDEN PINCE-NEZ On the table in the window were several shreds from a pencil which had been sharpened.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan DoyleContext Highlight In IX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE THREE STUDENTS a. clever; characterized by keen awareness, sharp intelligence
Dolly looked at him with her shrewd, comprehending eyes.
Ben Weatherstaff chuckled and there was shrewd admiration in his little old eyes.
There was a queer mixture of crabbed tenderness and shrewd understanding in his manner.
v. wither; decrease in size; become or make shrunken and wrinkled, often by drying
The shrivelled voice of the heath did not alarm him, for that was familiar.
Return of the Native By Thomas HardyContext Highlight In BOOK 1: 8 Those Who Are Found Where There Is Said to Be Nobody He shrivelled up, Antonia said, until he looked like a little old yellow monkey, for his beard and his fringe of hair never changed colour.
Pretty soon a spider went crawling up my shoulder, and I flipped it off and it lit in the candle; and before I could budge it was all shriveled up.
v. hide from view; wrap for burial; shut off from sight; shelter
My iron shroud contracted round me; persuasion advanced with slow sure step.
And from that pallor of the dead, we borrow the expressive hue of the shroud in which we wrap them.
Moby Dick By Herman MelvilleContext Highlight In CHAPTER 42. The Whiteness of The Whale. I know not what dress she had on: it was white and straight; but whether gown, sheet, or shroud, I cannot tell.
v. separate with a sieve, as the fine part of a substance from the course; examine critically or minutely; scrutinize
Satan desires to have ye, and sift ye as wheat.
It was, of course, not a thing even to be talked of lightly; it was a thing they would have to sift to the bottom.
And she was sent into the kitchen, and made to fetch wood and water, to blow the fire, pluck the poultry, pick the herbs, sift the ashes, and do all the dirty work.
a. open and genuine; not deceitful; pure; unmixed
If ever child were stricken with sincere grief, I was.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 9. I HAVE A MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY and sincere esteem, said Stepan Arkadyevitch, pressing his hand.
I think I was the loudest of the party, but I am sure we were all sincere about it.
a. suggesting or threatening evil; accompanied by or leading to disaster
I could see nothing sinister about him.
The author clears himself from any sinister ends in writing.
Gulliver's Travels(V2) By Jonathan SwiftContext Highlight In PART 4: CHAPTER XII. He gave me a sidelong glance out of his sinister red eyes, and laughed.
n. doubter; person who suspends judgment until evidence has been examined
His voice was soft but there was a vibrant note in it, and looking up into his dark face she saw in it none of the skepticism, the jeering humor she knew so well.
Suddenly I wasn't thinking of Daisy and Gatsby any more but of this clean, hard, limited person who dealt in universal skepticism and who leaned back jauntily just within the circle of my arm.
v. become slower; loosen; become less vigorous, intense, or severe
As if by agreement, the leaders began to slacken their speed.
It was already beginning to slacken, with a slack sort of thinness, almost withered, going old before it had ever really lived.
I hailed her, but could get no answer; yet I found I gained upon her, for the wind slackened.
Gulliver's Travels(V1) By Jonathan SwiftContext Highlight In PART 1: CHAPTER VIII. n. almost no; very little; deliberate discourtesy
Guided by a slight clue, I followed the windings of the Rhone, but vainly.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 24 Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by such slight ligaments are we bound to prosperity or ruin.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 2 I could mention innumerable instances which, although slight, marked the dispositions of these amiable cottagers.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 12 v. burn without flame; be liable to break out at any moment
It might have come from the center of the world, this smoke, where the fires of the ages still smolder.
He stirred the smoldering ashes till the broiled fowl began to sizzle afresh.
After the surrender, an ever-present feud over the horse smoldered between Scarlett and Suellen.
a. isolated; existing, living, or going without others; alone; unaccompanied
In the music room Gatsby turned on a solitary lamp beside the piano.
I alighted and was conducted to my solitary apartment to spend the evening as I pleased.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 3 The scene was perfectly solitary; a few boats were returning towards land, but I sailed away from them.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 20 v. cause to feel better; give moral or emotional strength to
Again Rosa Dartle tried to soothe her; again ineffectually.
David Copperfield By Charles DickensContext Highlight In CHAPTER 32. THE BEGINNING OF A LONG JOURNEY He began to speak, trying to find words not to dissuade but simply to soothe her.
He endeavoured to soothe me as a nurse does a child and reverted to my tale as the effects of delirium.
Frankenstein By Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) ShelleyContext Highlight In Chapter 23