Using the

Specific
Word
Chapter 33
● Using the specific word over general words
make the writing precise and accurate
● Increases the clarity of writing

E.g. She said, “I don’t want

you to go”
She murmured, “I don’t
want you to go”
Movement Words

● Walk ⇒ To move or go
somewhere by putting one foot
in front of the other on the
ground, at a fairly slow pace; a
general word

● Gait ⇒ The way a person

walks or runs
Movement Words

● Shuffle ⇒ to walk with small

steps without lifting one’s feet
completely off the ground and
somewhat dragging the feet
● Stagger ⇒ a weak unsteady
way of walking, describes the
gait of a drunkard
 Movement words

Trot
Used with reference to a
horse or rider; to move
forward at a speed that is
faster than a walk

E.g. The horse broke into a

trot
 Movement words

Canter
A pace of a horse or other
four legged animals between
trot and a gallop; fairly fast
but not very fast

E.g. The riders cantered

round the ground a few
times
 Movement words

Gallop
The fastest pace of a horse or
other four legged animals with
all the feet off the ground
together in each stride

E.g. We galloped through the

woods
 Movement words

● Stride ⇒ to walk
with long steps in a
particular direction
●
E.g. We strode
across the snowy
fields
 Movement words

Strut ⇒ to walk proudly with

one’s head up and chest out to
show that one is important
E.g. The players strutted
and posed for the cameras
 Movement words

Limp ⇒ a way of walking

that is affected by an
injured leg or foot
E.g. She has a slight limp
To sit...
● To sit ⇒ to rest one’s weight on
one’s bottom with the back
straight; a general word
E.g. He went and sat beside her
● To sit up ⇒ to sit with one’s back
straight
E.g. Please sit up during the class
 To sit...

Sit at the
To sit back
table
To sit and lean
against something; to Sit facing the table
sit on something, to
usually a chair, in a eat a meal, have a
relaxed position meeting or a conversation

E.g. Just sit back and relax

E.g. Sit at the table for
dinner
To sit...
● To sit on a surface ⇒ like chair, a
bed or a sofa (where one sit more
upright)

● To sit in an armchair ⇒
● to sit in a furniture where you
lounge
 Squat
o r c r o u c h on the
● To sit a w in g o ne ’s legs
ground dr t h e b o d y or in
der
closely un
front of it
d o n t h e ground
uatt e
E.g. She sq a n d s b y t he fire
ed her h
and warm
n t h e h a unches
at o
● To squ ing the body on the
⇒ sit rest e b u t t o c ks and
f th
soft part o
thighs
To sit cross-legged ⇒ To sit on the
floor with one’s legs bent so that the
knees point outwards
E.g. John sat cross-legged on the floor
● To sit with one’s legs crossed ⇒ to sit
with one leg over and across the other
or
To sit with one ankle over and
across the other and the knees
apart
● Plonk ⇒ to sit heavily or carelessly with
a sound
E.g. He just plonked himself
down and turned on the TV
● Sprawl ⇒ to sit, lie or fall with one’s
arms and legs spread out in a relaxed
and careless way
E.g. He was sprawling in an
armchair in front of the TV
● Lounge ⇒ to sit in a released or lazy
way especially on a sofa
E..g. ⇒ She was lounging on the
beach
● To resume the chair ⇒ to sit again
after being on one’s legs for some time.
E.g. Will the delegates please
resume their chairs?
● Ensconce⇒ to settle securely or
snugly/ to establish or sit in a
comfortable safe place
E.g I found her in the library,
ensconced in an armchair
Animal Cries

1. Dogs ⇒
Growl- to make a low
Bark- loud sound made sound in the throat,
by dogs usually as a sign of anger

Snarl-to show the teeth Whine- to make a long,

and make a deep angry high, unpleasant sound
noise in the throat in pain
Animal Cries
Jackals → howl Cock→ crows at midnight

Cats → mew Hen→ cackle

Cows→ moo/low Ducks→ quack

Bull → bellows Bees→ hum

Sheep→ bleat Beetles→ drone

Owls→ hoot Camels, pigs → grunt

Frogs → croak/ribbit Horse → neighs

Cricket→ chirp Elephant → trumpets

Animal Cries
Lions→ roar

Snake → hisses

Donkey → heehaws

Chickens → cluck

Roosters → cock-a-doodle-do

Birds → chirp

Geese→ honk

Turkey → gobble

Mosquito → buzz
 Sounds made with mouth
Or nose

1. Hawk : to clear one’s throat noisily; to make an effort to

raise phlegm from the throat

E.g. Hawk up phlegm

2. Pant : to breathe quickly and loudly through mouth, because

you have been doing something very energetic

E.g. Blake was panting hard after running up the hill

3. Yawn: to open your mouth wide and breathe in deeply

through it, usually because you are tired or bored

E.g. She yawned, covering her mouth with her hands

 Sounds made with mouth
Or nose

4. Sigh : to breathe out slowly and noisily, expressing tiredness,

sadness, pleasure, etc.

E.g. She sighed deeply and sat down

5. Snore :to breathe noisily through your nose and mouth while
you are asleep

E.g. I could hear Paul snoring in the next room

6. Sneeze: to have air come suddenly and noisily out through your
nose and mouth in a way that you cannot control, for example
because you have a cold

E.g. Cats make him sneeze. I think he is allergic to them

 Sounds made with mouth
Or nose

7. Sniff: to smell something by taking air in through your nose,to

breathe air in through your nose in a way that makes a sound,
especially when you are crying, have a cold, etc.

E.g. She sniffed at her glass of wine before tasting it

She sniffed and wiped her nose with a tissue

 Sounds made with mouth
Or nose

8. Whistle: to make a high sound by forcing air through a small

hole or passage, especially through the lips, or through a special
device held to the lips

E.g. He whistled as he worked

9. Belch: to allow air from the stomach to come out noisily

through the mouth

E.g. He belched noisily

10. Hiccup: a sharp, usually repeated, sound made in the throat,

that is caused by a sudden movement of the diaphragm and that
you cannot control

E.g. He gave a loud hiccup

 Sounds made with mouth
Or nose

11. Stutter: to have difficulty speaking because you

cannot stop yourself from repeating the first sound
of some words several times

E.g. ‘W-w-what?’ he stuttered.

12. Stammer: to speak with difficulty, repeating sounds or words

and often stopping, before saying things correctly

E.g. "Wh-when can we g-go?" she stammered.

13: Splutter: to speak in a quick and confused way, producing

short, unclear noises because of surprise, anger, etc.

E.g. "But, er ... when, um, ... how?" he spluttered.

 Wind Vocabulary

1. Wind : air that moves quickly as a result of natural forces. A general

term; there is no reference to the speed or strength
E.g. The wind is blowing from the south
2. Breeze: A light wind ;winds with a speed upto 50 km/h
(light breeze, gentle breeze, moderate breeze, fresh breeze,
strong breeze)
E.g. She let the gentle breeze cool her face
3. Gales: Winds having speed between 50 km/h and 100 km/h (strong
winds)
E.g. Hundreds of old trees were blown down in the gales
 Wind Vocabulary

4. Storm: winds having a speed between 100 km/h and 120 km/h
( very strong winds)
E.g. A lot of trees were blown down in the recent storms
5. Hurricane: a violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the
Western Atlantic Ocean
E.g. The roof of their house cave in during the hurricane
6. Cyclone: wind moving in a circular direction towards an area of low
atmospheric pressure
E.g. A cyclone swept across the island, killing several people
 Wind Vocabulary

7. Anticyclone: An area of high pressure that produces calm weather

conditions with clear skies; circular motion of winds around a central
region of high atmospheric pressure.
E.g. The anticyclone brought bright sunshine and calm conditions to
most areas
8. Tornado: a violent storm with very strong winds that move in a circle;
there is often also a long cloud that is narrower at bottom than top
E.g. They have issued a tornado warning for this area
 Some more words
● Thud → a sound that is made when
something heavy falls or hits something
else, a low dull sound
E.g. The boot made a dull thud as it hit
the ground
● Patter→ the sound that is made by
something repeatedly hitting a surface
quickly and lightly
E.g. The patter of rain on the roof
● Rustling→ the sound of light, dry things
moving together
E.g. the soft rustling of leaves
 Some more words
● Peal→ a loud sound or series of sounds
E.g. She burst into peals of laughter ; a
peal of thunder broke overhead
● Rattling → a sound similar to a series of
quickly repeated knocks
E.g. the sound of windows rattling in the
wind; the explosion rattled the cups on
the table
● Crash → a sudden, loud noise made, by
something falling or breaking
E.g. the tree fell with a great crash
 Some more words
● Clatter→ to make continuous loud noises by
hitting hard objects against each other
E.g. Her cup clattered in the saucer
● Sip→ to drink something, taking a very small
amount each time
E.g. she sat there, sipping at her tea; she slowly
sipped her wine
● Neat→as applied to drinks served in bars- refers
to a shot of liquor poured directly from the bottle
and into the glass, without mixing it with water.
Brandy and whiskey are the most popular
spirits to drink neat
The American word for neat is straight
 Some more words
● To gulp something down→ to swallow large
amounts of food or drink quickly
E.g. He gulped down the rest of his tea and
went out
● Quaff something → to drink a large amount of
something quickly
E.g. They spent the evening quaffing champagne