Closey Related Adjectives

When the great debate began, Koko, Pip and Bertha were enjoying a night under the stars! "Time to roast some hot dogs! They are so good!" "They are okay, but roasted s'mores are outstanding!" "They are too messy!" "Let Bertha decide who has the better food idea, and quickly, because I'm hungry!" If Pip and Koko want to persuade Bertha to like their choice, they need to learn about closely related adjectives. Synonyms are words that are closely related in meaning or are similar. An adjective, or describing word, can also have synonyms! Weaker or stronger adjectives can help us show what we want to explain. The differences between the weaker and stronger adjectives are called ‘shades of meaning.’ This is because some words may be more powerful than the others when describing nouns. Let's look at the adjectives Koko and Pip used. Koko said that hot dogs are ‘good’. Pip said that they were ‘okay’, but s'mores were ‘outstanding’. ‘Good’, ‘okay’ and ‘outstanding’ are all adjectives to describe the quality of something. Even though these adjectives are all closely related, let’s think about putting them in order from weakest description to strongest. ‘Okay’ would be the weakest adjective because it means that you will accept something, but don't feel that strongly about it. The next adjective would be ‘good’. When something is good, it is a general way to say we like it. ‘Outstanding’ is the strongest adjective because it means the quality is standing out when compared to others. Let's look at another example. Koko said that s'mores were messy. ‘Filthy’ and ‘dirty’ also mean messy. Think about these descriptions. Filthy, messy, dirty. Which is the weakest description? ‘Messy’. If something is messy, it is untidy. Which description would come next? ‘Dirty’ is next because it means that it is untidy and also unclean. ‘Filthy’ is the strongest description because it means extremely untidy and unclean. Although ‘filthy’ is the most powerful adjective it doesn't mean we always choose it. Sometimes we may need to choose a weaker description to match the situation. In this situation, ‘messy’ is the best choice. Here's one to try on your own. Pip said he was hungry. ‘Famished’ and ‘starving’ also mean ‘hungry’. Put these closely related adjectives in order from weakest to strongest. ‘Hungry’ would be the weakest description because it means you are feeling like you are ready to eat. ‘Starving’ is next because it describes an uncomfortable feeling from needing to eat and ‘famished’ is the strongest. It is an extreme level of hunger. Before we see how our campers are doing, let's review. Remember, adjectives are words that describe nouns and they can have synonyms. Weaker or stronger adjectives can help us show what we want to explain. The differences between the weaker and stronger adjectives are called ‘shades of meaning’. This is because some words may be more powerful than the others when describing nouns. The story will determine what shade of meaning to use! "Hot dogs!" "S'mores!" "Hot dogs!" "S'mores!" Looks like Bertha has decided on a s’more-dog!