Leaden Meaning
/ˈlɛdən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjMade of lead.
adjOf or related to the metal lead, particularly, Made of lead.
Sentence Examples
My legs were leaden from fatigue.
His backache left him lurching along with leaden legs.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sky was ____ and very dark, threatening to bring heavy rain.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sky was a ____ grey color, and the heavy clouds suggested that a very powerful storm was approaching.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English leden, leaden, from Old English lēaden (“leaden, of lead”). Cognate with West Frisian leaden (“leaden”), Dutch loden (“leaden”). By surface analysis, lead + -en.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow."
— 1819, John Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC, stanza 3, page 109:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The sky was ____ and very dark, threatening to bring heavy rain.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sky was a ____ grey color, and the heavy clouds suggested that a very powerful storm was approaching.