Which word is the weakest? Which word is the strongest? “Shades” of Meaning Which word is the weakest? Which word is the strongest?

What does it mean? Although there may be many different words for the same thing, there are usually slight differences in meaning. We call these “shades” of meaning. For example, ‘cross’ and ‘furious’ both mean angry, but ‘furious’ means more angry than ‘cross’ does.

Put the words in order from “weakest” to “strongest” meaning. Grumpy, cross, furious Eat, gobble, nibble Sip, swig, swallow, gulp Wreck, destroy, damage Shining, sparkling, glittering, dazzling Pretend, fake, phoney Boring, dull, tedious, uninteresting. Lump, particle, speck, chunk Great, big, enormous, gigantic Awake, sleepy, tired, asleep

Complete the sentences with the strongest word in each set. 1. John _____ the door loudly. [ shut, slammed, banged] 2. The towels were ___. [ hairy, scratchy, rough] 3. May’s weather was ___. [ scorching, hot, warm] 4. “What do you think you are doing?” _____ the referee. [said, snapped, yelled] 5. Joe was ______________when his puppy went missing. [sad, depressed, tearful, heartbroken]