on tiptoe
e. g. She stood on tiptoe trying to peep into the room through
the window.
22. wrist
IV. Build, Figure and Bearing ,
1. back
2. belly (paunch) [ ] ,
3. blade (shoulder-blade)
4. body
5. breast [ ] (bosom [ ])
(Bosom may also mean . The word is also used figuratively when the breast is considered the seat of the passions, affections, etc.)
e. g. Her bosom heaved with suppressed sobs.
6. build (frame)
delicate build (delicately-built) ( )
e. g. A woman of delicate build.
heavy build (heavily-built) ( )
e. g. A heavily-built stocky man.
powerful build
solid build
spare frame
strong build
7. carriage (bearing, poise)
erect (upright) bearing
e. g. His tall figure and erect bearing attracted everybody's attention.
8. chest
broad chest (broad-chested) ( )
hollow chest
9. constitution , ,
frail (delicate) constitution
strong (vigorous) constitution, ,
weak (poor) constitution
e. g. Her weak constitution made it impossible for her to indulge in sports.
10. figure
fat figure
graceful figure ,
lean figure
neat figure ,
. g. The neat and graceful figure of the young woman.
paunchy figure (with a paunch)
e. g. The big paunchy figure of Mr. Smith appeared in the distance.
plump figure
slender (slim) figure ,
e. g. A slender youth stepped forward.
slight figure ,
stocky figure ,
stout figure ,
superb figure
well-made figure
e. g. He was well-made, though a bit too plump.
11. gait (walk)
halting gait (walk with a halt) ()
e. g. The old man walked with a halt.
heavy gait
light gait
e. g. The light gait of an athlete.
limping gait (lameness)
shuffling gait
e. g. The heavy shuffling gait of old people.
stooping gait (walk with a stoop) ( )
swaggering gait
swaying (rolling) gait
e. g. The swaying gait of a sailor.
12. hunchbacked (humpbacked)
13. joint
14. muscle
15. shoulder
broad shoulders (broad-shouldered) ()
round shoulders ;
shrug one's shoulders
e. g. He shrugged his shoulders as if in vexation and stepped aside.
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sloping shoulders
6. stature [ ] (height, size)
diminutive stature
e. g. Dora was a frail girl of diminutive stature.
high (in height)
e. g. He was 6 feet high (in height).
middle-sized or medium (average) height (size)
e. g. Onopening the door I ran into a middle-sized man who was evidently leaving the house.
short ,
e. g. His mother was short and rather stout.
tall
7. step
firm step
footsteps ( )
e. g. The young man's measured footsteps were heard.
heavy steps
light steps
rapid steps (with a rapid step) ( )
slow steps (with a slow step) ( )
8. stride
e. g. In two strides he caught up with us.
9. trunk
10. waist
slim waist (slim-waisted) ( )
V. Manners, Voice, Smile , ,
1. awkward
e. g. With one awkward movement he upset the little table.
2. bashful
e. g. At first Jon felt bashful in the presence of Fleur.
3. behave
(The reflexive pronoun is used after the verb to behave when referring to the politeness of one's demeanour.)
e. g. Children, don't fidget. Behave yourselves!
4. behaviour
5. clumsy ,
(The difference between the words awkward and clumsy lies in the fact that clumsy implies heaviness and stiffness of body in general, and awkward implies lack of grace in one's movements or actions. A clumsy person is usually awkward in his movements; whereas a person may do something awkwardly without being clumsy by nature,
e. g. His clumsy fingers would not obey him.)
6. conduct [ ] oneself (In formal style).
e. g. A young girl should conduct herself with modesty.
7. conduct [ ]
(Behave and behaviour are used when speaking about our actions in the presence of others or towards them, and usually refer to external relations. Conduct (v) & (n) are used to characterize the general trend of our actions in more serious instances, especially when the idea of the moral aspect of the action is important, e. g. We did not approve of his conduct towards his son.)
8. gesture ,
9. grin
e. g. His mouth widened in a grin.
10. grin ,
e. g. The man grinned at the boy calmly.
11. manners
(The noun manners in the plural has the meaning of rules of social conduct,
e. g. Children must be taught table manners.)
good manners
have no manners
quiet manners
refined manners
12. pert ,
e. g. The girl's pert reply puzzled the old lady.
13. polite
14. prim ,
e. g. David's aunt was prim and stern with people she did not respect.
15. self-confident
e. g. He spoke with a self-confident air.
16. self-conscious ,
e. g. I cannot speak in public. I always feel self-conscious.
17. shy
(A shy person is not sure of himself in the presence of other people because he is reserved by nature. A person not shy by nature may become self-conscious because he feels embarrassed. Bashful is generally applied to characterize the behaviour of young people, e. g. He felt shy when people praised his pictures.)
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18. smile
bright smile
e. g. She gave me a bright smile.
broad smile
e. g. A broad smile lit up his face.
charming smile
cunning smile
engaging smile
faint smile
e. g. A faint smile curved her lips.
happy smile
ironical smile
pleasant smile
e. g. The man had quiet manners and a pleasant smile.
pleased smile
e. g. His pleased smile showed that he was quite satisfied.
sad smile
strained smile
e. g. A strained smile appeared on her face.
sweet smile ()
wear a smile
e. g. He wore an ironical smile on his face.
wry [ ] smile
e. g. The man wore a wry cunning smile.
19. smile
e. g. He smiled at her across the table.
She smiled her usual sweet smile.
20. stiff ,
e. g. Miss Ingram gave Jane Eyre a stiff nod.
21. voice
at the top of one's voice
e. g. We heard a man shouting at the top of his voice.
clear (ringing) voice
deep voice
drop one's voice
e. g. He dropped his voice to a whisper.
high-pitched voice
e. g. The sound of her high-pitched voice still rang in my ears.
hoarse voice
in a voice
e. g. He gave the command in a clear voice.
in bad voice
e. g. She said she could not sing as she was in bad voice that day.
in good voice
loud voice (loud-voiced) ( , )
e. g. All the family were loud-voiced.
low voice
pleasant voice
e. g. She spoke in a low, pleasant voice.
raise one's voice
e. g. He raised his voice in anger.
shrill voice
soft voice
strain one's voice
e. g. Don't shout so loudly, you'll strain your voice.
sweet voice ()
thin voice
toneless voice
e. g. The sick man said something in a thin, toneless voice.
weak (feeble) voice
22. well-bred
e. g. She wanted her children to be well-bred.
23. whisper
in a whisper
e. g. Don't speak in a whisper, nobody is asleep.
24. whisper ()
VI. General Appraisal of a Person's Appearance
1. air (look) 1) ; 2) ,
(When outward appearance is meant both words air and look may be used, e. g. He spoke about it with an air (look) of secrecy. When affected manners are meant the word air is used,
e. g. Give oneself (put on) airs , .)
2. attractive ,
e. g. Her jet-black hair and bright blue eyes made her very attractive.
3. bear (carry) one's age well
e. g. Look how well he bears his age, nobody would ever think he was fifty.
4. beautiful ,
5. beauty 1) ; 2)
e. g. His sister has always been a beauty.
His sister's beauty produced a great impression on me.
real beauty
6. common ,
common appearance
common face
7. gain weight (put on weight) ,
e. g. She has gained weight and looks quite healthy
8. good-looking
9. good looks
e. g. He took great care with his appearance so as not to lose his good looks.
10. groomed (well-groomed) ,
groomed (well-groomed) hands
groomed (well-groomed) face
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11. handsome ,
12. how does somebody look? ...?
(This question is asked about a person whom the inquirer knows but has not seen for some time.)
e. g. Is it true that she has been seriously ill, how does she look now?
13. image (-)
the very image (of)
e. g. The girl is the very image of her mother.
14. look as if... ...
e. g. She looks as if she were ill. look like
e. g. The child looks very much like his elder brother.
look old for one's age
e. g. Being stout, he looked rather old for his age.
look one's age ,
look oneself again ,
e. g. I was glad to see that she looked herself again.
look not a day older than ,
e. g. She looked not a day older than thirty, though I knew that she must be much older.
look young for one's age
15. lose weight ,
e. g. She has lost weight and looks quite young for her age.
16. plain (Am. homely)
e. g. A plain common face.
17. pretty
18. remind one of (somebody, something) (-, -)
e. g. Her face reminds me of her mother's.
