Sentence:  The influence of Mass <WSD>was</WSD> less pervasive than that of the congested , slum tenements among the bawdy houses , honkytonks , and sawdust saloons of his birthplace ; he ran wild with the child gangs of the neighbourhood , and went through the normal pressure-cooker course of thieving , police dodging , and housebreaking . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)