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Culture Documents
FC Vocabulary and Expressions
FC Vocabulary and Expressions
WAYS OF LOOKING
look: give attention to what one is seeing; turn the eyes
and see in a certain direction.
Look at that cute baby!
see: use the power of sight.
See! Here she comes!
watch: look at some activity or event; keep one's eyes fixed on
something.
The boys watched television all the afternoon.
gaze: look at something for a long time, in surprise or admiration.
She gazed at him in disbelief when he told her the news.
stare: look at something for a long time with the eyes wide open.
She was staring into space.
gawk = gawp: stare impolitely.
Many people gathered to gawp at the crashed car.
gape: look at something with one's mouth open.
She gaped at him in surprise.
glance: have a quick look at something.
She glanced at her watch.
scan: look quickly at something without careful reading.
He scanned the newspaper over breakfast.
glare: stare angrily or fiercely.
She didn't answered, but just glared silently at me.
peer: look very carefully, as if not able to see well.
He peered at me over his spectacles.
peep: look quickly and cautiously.
He was caught peeping through the keyhole.
observe: watch carefully.
The police observed the man entering the bank.
glimpse: have a passing view of something or someone. Usually
used in the expression to catch a glimpse of.
He could catch a glimpse of the president among the crowd.
spot: recognize someone suddenly among many others.
He was spotted by the police boarding a plane for Berlin.
behold: old use of the verb to see.
Behold the king!
view: (technical) look thouroughly; regard, consider.
That film hasn't been viewed by the censor yet.
sight: see for the first time.
The men in the ship finally sighted land.
leer: look in an unpleasant way, suggesting ill will or lust.
The man leered at the young girl.
blink: shut and open the eyes quickly.
How long can you stare without blinking?
wink: close one eye briefly, as a signal to somebody.
He winked at me to show that he was just joking.
frown: look in a worried or angry way, moving down the eyebrows
together.
He read the telegram, frowning at its contents.
scowl: frown angrily.
She was very angry and scowled at him while she talked.
WAYS OF SPEAKING
speak: make use of words in a normal voice.
May I speak to George?
talk: speak to give information, say things.
What are they talking about?
hesitate: be slow to speak (or act) because one is uncertain or
unwilling to talk.
He hesitated before answering my question.
whisper: speak softly, without vibrating the vocal cords, privately
or secretly.
She whispered the secret word in my ear.
hiss: say something in a loud whisper. (Snakes also hiss).
'Get out!' she hissed at me furiously.
mumble: speak unclearly, so that others can't hear.
He mumbled something at me which I didn't understand.
mutter: speak in a low voice, which is hard to hear.
She was muttering something to herself as she went out.
murmur: speak in a soft, quiet voice that is difficult to hear clearly.
The classmates murmured during the test.
hum: make a low continuous sound, when you take a long time
deciding what to say.
She hummed at the beginning of the oral exam.
grunt: make short sounds or say a few words in a rough voice,
when you don't want to talk. (Pigs also grunt).
She grunted a few words and left the table.
stammer: speak with pauses and repeating the same sound or
syllable, habitually or from fear or excitement.
'P-p-please give me the p-p-pen,' he stammered.
stutter: stammer.
'P-p-please give me the p-p-pen,' he stuttered.
quaver: speak tremulously, because you are nervous or upset.
Her voice quavered for a moment but then she regained control.
lisp: speak with /th/ sounds instead of /s/ sounds.
You're very thilly, Thimon. (You're very silly, Simon.)
babble = gabble: talk foolishly, in a way difficult to understand.
Her fever made her babble without stopping.
ramble: talk continuously, in a confused way.
Stop rambling and get to the point, please!
slur: speak unclearly, without separating the words correctly.
He was so drunk that he slurred to the bartender for more.
chat: have a friendly informal conversation.
They chatted away in the corner.
chatter: talk quickly and at length about something unimportant.
Please stop chattering, I'm trying to listen to the TV!
gossip: talk about the affairs of other people.
She was gossiping about her neighbours all day.
call: speak in a loud clear voice, shout, cry.
They called for help.
shout: speak in a loud voice, in anger or to get attention.
He had to shout because the music was too loud.
whoop: shout loudly and happily.
The children whooped when we entered the fair.
WAYS OF LAUGHING
laugh: express joy by making a sound, moving the face or body.
She splashed water on Nick and we all began laughing.
chuckle: laugh quietly, because you are thinking about something
funny.
What are you chuckling about? I don't see anything funny.
giggle: laugh quietly and repeatedly because you are nervous or
embarrassed.
She spilt the wine on the tablecloth and then giggled nervously at
me.
give somebody the giggles: make somebody start giggling.
titter: laugh quietly, unkindly at something embarrassing.
After she ended the lecture, she heard someone tittering.
snigger (GB) / snicker (US): laugh quietly, unkindly at
something that is not supposed to be funny.
When the teacher tripped on the steps, the boys sniggered.
roar / howl / shriek with laughter: laugh very loudly.
It was such a good comedy that when it finished, he was still
roaring with laughter.
chortle: give a loud chuckle of pleasure or amusement.
When I told her the joke, she started to chortle with delight.
cackle: laugh loudly in a high voice.
When I told her the joke, she started cackling and couldn't stop!
guffaw: laugh noisily.
They guffawed at what their baby had done.
jeer: laugh at somebody or shout unkind things at them.
The president was jeered by a crowd of protesters.
burst into laughter: suddenly start laughing.
The class burst into laughter.
laugh your head off: (informal) laugh a lot and loudly.
He told us a joke after another, and we laughed our heads off!
smile: make one's mouth curve upwards, in order to be friendly or
because one is happy.
As the boy left, he smiled at his mother and waved.
beam: smile very happily.
The mother looked at her son and beamed proudly.
grin: smile widely.
When she knew she had won the prize, she grinned broadly.
simper: smile in a silly and annoying way.
He simpered at the boys as he spoke.
smirk: smile in an unpleasant way, to show that you are pleased
by somebody's bad luck.
The kids smirked when the teacher fell on the floor.
sneer: smile in an unkind way, showing no respect for somebody.
She sneered at his boyfriend's musical tastes.
Related idioms
WAYS OF WALKING
shuffle: walk very slowly and noisily, without lifting one's feet off
the ground.
His legs were aching so much that he shuffled to bed.
stump: walk heavily and stiffly.
They stumped up the hill.
plod: walk with heavy steps or with difficulty.
Labourers plodded home through the muddy fields.
pace: walk with regular steps.
He paced up and down the platform, waiting for the train.
march: walk with regular steps of equal length.
Demonstrators marched through the streets of the city.
parade: walk or march together to celebrate or protest.
Demonstrators paraded through the streets of the city.
crawl: move slowly with the body close to the ground or on hands
and knees.
A baby crawls before he can walk.
toddle: walk with short unsteady steps.
Her two-year-old son toddled into the room.
edge: move gradually with small movements.
Paul decided to edge away from the crowd.
creep: move slowly and quietly with the body close to the ground.
The cat crept silently towards the bird.
sneak: go quietly and secretly in order to avoid being seen or
heard.
The boy sneaked in without paying.
pad: walk softly and quietly.
The child padded barefoot down the stairs.
prowl: walk slowly and quietly because you are involved in a
criminal activity or because you are looking for something.
Street gangs usually prowl this alley.
slide: move smoothly over a surface.
I was sliding on the ice.
slip: slide accidentally.
She slipped on the ice and broke her leg.
dash: move quickly and suddenly, rush.
I must dash or I'll miss the train.
dart: move quickly and suddenly in the specified direction.
She darted away when I came in.
scamper: run quickly and playfully.
The children were scampering up the steps.
sprint: run very quickly for a short distance.
The kids sprinted down the stairs.
jog: run slowly and steadily, as a way of exercising.
She goes jogging everyday.
trip over: catch one's foot on something and stumble or fall.
He tripped over the step and fell.
scuttle: move quickly with short steps, because you are afraid or
do not want to be noticed.
The mouse scuttled off when we entered the room.
scurry: move quickly with short steps, because you are in a hurry.
He was late so he had to scurry off to work.
skip: move forward with quick steps and jumps.
The child skipped with joy towards his father.
Strange
Odd
Unusual, peculiar
She always wears odd clothes.
Bizarre
Strange in appearance
This situation looks bizarre to me.
Funny
Queer
Weird
Unnatural, unconventional
He has a weird hairstyle.
Eerie
Freak
Quaint
Peculiar
Whimsic
al
Fishy
Very strange
The painter drew fantastic shapes here.
Curious
Excellent
Wonderful
Great!
Good work!
Good show!
Very nice, indeed!
Lovely!
Splendid
Superb
Brilliant
Marvellous (GB) Marvelous (US)
WAYS OF CRYING
cry: produce tears from your eyes, usually because you are
unhappy or hurt.
Please stop crying, Paul!
burst into tears: suddenly start crying.
When her boyfriend told her the truth, she burst into tears and ran
out.
break down in tears: suddenly cry a lot, after trying not to cry.
After reading his letter, she broke down in tears.
be close to tears/on the verge of tears: be about to cry.
When she heard his voice on the phone, she was close to tears.
have tears in one's eyes: be about to cry.
When I said goodbye, I had tears in my eyes.
shed tears: cry.
I must admit I shed a few tears when the school closed.
be in tears: be crying.
The children were all in tears when our dog disappeared.
be in floods of tears: (UK) cry a lot.
The children were in floods of tears when our dog disappeared.
be moved to tears: be so upset that you start to cry.
A lot of people were moved to tears by his story.
weep: cry a lot for a long time.
The kids wept bitterly when it was time to leave.
cry one's eyes/heart out: be extremely sad and cry a lot.
After the robbery, she cried her heart out.
bawl: (a baby) cry very loudly.
We could hear the baby bawling upstairs.
sob: cry noisily, with sudden noisy breaths.
He began sobbing uncontrollably.
completely
badly
quite
partly
barely
absolutely
deeply
rather
slightly
scarcely
entirely
greatly
hardly
fully
Exercise 2
Choose one adverb from the appropriate column in the diagram to
fill the gap in each sentence:
1. (A)
2. (B)
3. (C)
4. (D)
5. (E)
He's a
It was a
corrections.
They were
bad at all.
He was only
I
qualified engineer.
written report and it needed a lot of
impressed by the new product. It wasn't
responsible for the mistake.
slept at all last night.