Come out the Wilderness – Semantic Fields and Exercises

DESCRIBING PEOPLE

Agile (Adj.) – Displaying gracefulness, quick; Nimble

Accomplished (Adj.) – Skilled, Expert
Astonishing (Adj.) – Filled with sudden wonder or amazement
Arrogant (Adj.) – Displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or importance
Ashamed (Adj.) – Feeling inferior, inadequate
Amusing (Adj.) – Causing to laugh by giving pleasure
Astute (Adj.) – Displaying shrewdness or discernment; Shrewd
Bitter (Adj.) – Marked by resentment or cynicism; Cynical
Blunt (Adj.) – Abrupt and often disconcertingly frank in speech
Boyish (Adj.) – Characteristic or befitting a boy
Candid (Adj.) – Frankness or sincerity on expression
Contrite (Adj.) – Feeling regret and sorrow of one’s offenses; Penitent
Delightful (Adj.) – Displaying great pleasure or joy
Dreadful (Adj.) – Extremely distasteful, unpleasant or shocking
Eager (Adj.) – Displaying keen interest; intense desire or expectancy
Embittered (Adj.) – Arousing bitter feelings
Fearful (Adj.) – Causing or capable of causing fear; Frightening
Flattering (Adj.) – Displaying excessive compliments, often insincere, in order to win favor
Frantic (Adj.) – Highly excited with strong emotion or frustration; Frenzied
Furious (Adj.) – Full of extreme anger; Raging
Grim (Adj.) – Ghastly, sinister, dismal, gloomy
Lustful (Adj.) – Exited or driven by overwhelming desire or craving, esp. sexual
Malevolent (Adj.) – Displaying ill will toward others
Malicious (Adj.) – A desire to harm others ore see them suffer; extreme spite
Mollified (Adj.) – Calm in temper or feeling; Soothing
Obsequious (Adj.) – Displaying servile compliance
Outraged (Adj.) – Being grossly offended in decency, morality, or taste
Perverse (Adj.) – Directed away from what is good
Pleasant (Adj.) – Giving or affording pleasure; agreeable
Reckless (Adj.) – Heedless or careless
Sardonic (Adj.) – Scornfully or cynically mocking
Scornful (Adj.) – Showing contempt or disdain; Contemptuous
Sensible (Adj.) – Exhibiting good sense
Sensitive (Adj.) – Susceptible to attitudes or feelings of others
Shameful (Adj.) – Displaying strong emotions because of a sense of guilt
Spiteful (Adj.) – Showing ill will and desire to hurt
Steady (Adj.) – Firm in position or place; Unfaltering
Stubborn (Adj.) – Firmly resolved and determined; Resolute
Unattractive (Adj.) – Not appealing to the senses
Venomous (Adj.) – Secreting venom
Vindictive (Adj.) – Dispose to seeking revenge
Wavering (Adj.) – Exhibiting irresolution or indecision; Vacillating
Wicked (Adj.) – Evil by nature and in practice
Wry (Adj.) – Dryly humorous, often with a touch of irony

EXERCISE 1: Classify the adjectives above into positive and negative traits
EXERCISE 2: Complete the following sentences with an adjective from the list above

1. He’s so _____________, he’s always seeking revenge

2. She’s so _____________, she’s always telling the truth
3. He’s so _____________, He’s always complimenting people for his advantage
4. Opera singers are usually so ___________, they look down on other singers
5. She’s so ______________, she won’t budge an inch
6. The little boy was _______ about going to the party; he wouldn’t stand still or keep quiet
7. She’s very __________, she doesn’t beat around the bush
8. The workers were too _____________, they always did what they were told
9. She can’t decide whether to stay or to go, to stand or sit, she’s so _____________
10. He’s really _____________ and harmful toward everyone.

EXERCISE 3: Choose the odd one out

1. Arrogant Scornful Spiteful Steady

2. Wry Shameful Bitter Sardonic
3. Mollified Perverse Evil Wicked
4. Amusing Pleasant Grim agreeable

BODY MOVEMENTS

Awry (Adj.) – In a position which is turned or twisted toward one side; Askew
Bob (Verb) – To cause to move up or down
Chuckle (Verb) – To laugh quietly to oneself
Crouch (Verb) – To press the entire body close to the ground with the limbs bent
Drool (Verb) – To let saliva run from the mouth; Drivel
Fidget (Verb) –To move nervously or restlessly
Frown (Verb) – To wrinkle the brow as in thought or displeasure
Grin (Verb) – To smile broadly, often showing the teeth as in amusement or glee
Leap (Verb) – To spring or bound upward; Jump
Shiver (Verb) – To shake with or as if with cold; Tremble
Shrink (Verb) – To become reduced in size, value or amount; Dwindle
Tremble (Verb) – To shake involuntarily as if from excitement or anger; Quake

WAYS OF LOOKING

Glance (Verb) – To look hastily or briefly

Peer (Verb) – To look narrowly or curiously
Scowl (Verb) – To wrinkle or contract one’s brow as an expression of anger or disapproval
Scrutinize (Verb) – To examine closely
Stare (Verb) – To look directly or fixedly often wide-eyed
Watch (Verb) – To look or observe attentively

EXERCISE 4: State if these sentences make sense as they stand.

1. I always frown when I’m happy

2. John chuckled when he heard the joke
3. She was so nervous at her job interview that she couldn’t stop fidgeting
4. She trembled and shivered while she was watching the horror movie
5. He elegantly drooled all over his food at the banquet
6. They glanced at each other for twenty long seconds
7. The mother scowled at her naughty daughter
WAYS OF SPEAKING OR EXPRESSING ONESELF THROUGH SOUNDS

Bawl (Verb) – To cry out loudly and vehemently; Shout

Chatter (Verb) – To talk rapidly, incessantly, and on trivial subjects; Jabber
Demur (Verb) – To voice opposition; Object
Hum (Verb) – To emit a continuous low droning sound
Muffle (Verb) – To wrap or pad in order to deaden, esp. a sound
Murmur (Verb) – To speak in a low, indistinct, continuous sound
Plea (Verb) – To request, appeal
Scream (Verb) – To utter a long piercing cry as from pain or fear
Shriek (Verb) – To cry out frantically
Sigh (Verb) – To exhale audibly in weariness or relief
Stammer (Verb) – To speak with involuntary pauses and repetitions
Utter (Verb) – To give public expression to
Weep (Verb) – To express in tears as an expression of emotion
Whisper (Verb) – To speak without a full voice

WAYS OF DOING THINGS

Abruptly (Adv.) –Unexpectedly sudden; Curt; Brusque

Avidly (Adv.) – In manner that displays ardent desire or Craving
Briskly (Adv.) – In manner that displays speed or liveliness and vigor
Busily (Adv.) – In manner that displays engagement in activity or work
Cruelly (Adv.) – In manner that displays cruelty, pain or suffering
Conspiratorially (Adv.) – In manner that displays conspiracy
Defensively (Adv.) – In manner that displays defensiveness
Despairingly (Adv.) – In manner that displays loss of all hope, futility or defeat
Eerily (Adv.) – In manner that displays inexplicable fear, dread or uneasiness
Faintly (Adv.) – In manner that displays lack of strength; Feeble
Gravely (Adv.) – In manner that displays a serious degree
In a rush (Adv. Phrase) – in a hurry; Hastily
Inexorably (Adv.) – In manner that displays impossibility of being persuaded: Relentless
Ludicrously (Adv.) – In manner that provokes laughter or a hilarious response
Ostentatiously (Adv.) – In manner that displays pretentiousness
Reluctantly (Adv.) – In manner that displays unwillingness, resistance or opposition
Resentfully (Adv.) – In manner that displays indignant grievance
Tentatively (Adv.) – Not fully worked out or concluded
Truculently (Adv.) – In manner that displays violence or destructiveness
Unsettlingly (Adv.) – disturbingly
Uproariously (Adv.) – In a loud boisterous manner
Vehemently (Adv.) – In manner that displays vigor, energy or strength

EXERCISE 5: State which adverbs may modify these verbs

1. Bawl Loudly Quietly Frantically Eerily Unsettlingly

2. Stammer Inexorably Briskly Avidly Despairingly In a hurry
3. Shriek Faintly Cruelly Vehemently Ludicrously Faintly
4. Whisper conspiratorially Faintly Resentfully Truculently ostentatiously
5. Plea ludicrously Avidly Uproariously Reluctantly Restlessly
6. Sigh Busily Unsettlingly Gravely Faintly tentatively
WAYS OF MOVING

Bestir (Verb) – To cause to become active; Rouse

Cast (Verb) – To throw forth, Drop
Drag (Verb) – To pull along with difficulty or effort; Haul
Drift (Verb) – To wander from a set course; Stray
Prod (Verb) – To Jab; Poke as with a pointed object
Roam (Verb) – To move about without purpose or plan; Wander
Whirl (Verb) – To move circularly and rapidly in varied random directions

EXERCISE 6: Answer the following questions

1. What can be bestirred?

2. What can drift in the wind? What can drift in the river? What can be cast into the wind?
3. What items of clothing can be whirled?
4. What can be dragged by a tractor?

WAYS OF PUTTING OBJECTS INTO ANOTHER

Cram (Verb) – To pack into an uncomfortably small or restricted place

Tighten (Verb) – To make or become tight or tighter
Strain (Verb) – To do with or marked by excessive effort; force
Stuff (Verb) – To pack (a container) tightly; Cram

LIGHT AND DARKNESS

Gleaming (Adj.) – A steady brief but subdued or dim shining; Glow

Glitter (Verb) – A sparkling, brilliant, showy or glistening light; often superficial attractiveness
Gloom (Noun) – Partial or total darkness; Dimness
Glow (Verb) – To shine brightly and steadily; especially without flame
Shroud (Verb) –Concealed, protected, hidden, screened

WAYS OF BEHAVING TOWARD PEOPLE

Coax (Verb) – To persuade or try to persuade by pleading or flattery; Cajole

Distrust (Verb) – To lack trust or confidence
Enable (Verb) – To supply with means, knowledge, or opportunity
Engulf (Verb) – To swallow up or overwhelm by or as if by overflowing or enclosing
Ensnare (Verb) – To trap or gain power over someone by dishonest or underhanded means
Exploit (Verb) – To employ to the greatest possible advantage selfishly or unethically
Mingle (Verb) – To mix or bring together in combination
Nag (Verb) – To torment persistently, as with anxiety or pain
Nettle (Verb) – To irritate; Vex
Nourish (Verb) – To provide with food or other substances necessary for life
Punish (Verb) – To inflict a penalty for (an offense)

EXERCISE 7: Answer the following questions

1. Do you cramp and stuff your clothes into your suitcase or drawers or are you organized and neat?
2. Do most people tend to tighten or loosen their belts when dressing casually?
3. What can glow? A fire or embers?
4. If Western women visit Muslim countries, should they remain shrouded?
5. Does gold glitter or gleam?
6. Would you distrust someone who has coaxed you before?
7. When you visit another country, do you mingle with the locals?
8. Do most wives nag and nettle their husbands?
9. How do birds nourish their young?