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ON EARTH
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Used with question words to convey surprise
Example:
what on earth are you doing?
Classified under:
Context examples:
What on earth can it mean?
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“Where on earth have they got to?” cried my uncle.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
You can put it right out of your head now, at once, said Summerlee with decision, nothing on earth would induce me to commit such a folly.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I would not have the shadow of a coolness arise, he repeated, his voice sinking a little, between the two dearest objects I have on earth.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
The Lion declared he was afraid of nothing on earth, and would gladly face an army or a dozen of the fierce Kalidahs.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
Phylogenetic analysis is the study of evolutionary relationships among the many different kinds of life on earth, both living (extant) and dead (extinct).
(Phylogenetic Analysis, NCI Thesaurus)
"When I have one of my own, I hope it will be as happy as the three I know and love the best. If John and my Fritz were only here, it would be quite a little heaven on earth," she added more quietly.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
The plan pleased him much, and he soon became such a skilful star-gazer, that when he had served out his time, and wanted to leave his master, he gave him a glass, and said, With this you can see all that is passing in the sky and on earth, and nothing can be hidden from you.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
What on earth do you mean?
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
“Why on earth should two men write a letter in such a fashion?”
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
