Manner of Action or Being

KK1a Other words meaning very good—for example, food: “That pie (was) ________.”

KK3a Words for the perfect condition—for example, in cooking: “It’s done to (a) ________.”

KK4 When things turn out just right, you might say, “Everything is ________ now.”

KK6 Something low-grade or of poor quality—for example, a piece of merchandise: “I wouldn’t buy that, it’s ________.”

KK7 When wood—for example, a tree stump—is starting to decay inside, you’d say, “It’s ________ inside.”

KK9 When someone undertakes something too big for him to handle: “This time you’ve ________.”

KK10 Other words for something failing—for example, a plan: “She didn’t work it out carefully enough, and her plan ________.”

KK10a When you don’t feel well enough to go into the office to work, and you need to let them know, you might say, “I’ll __________.”

KK11 To make great objections or a big fuss about something: “When we asked him to do that, he ________.”

KK12 A meeting where there’s a lot of talking: “They got together yesterday and had a real ________.”

KK13 Other words for arguing: “They stood there for an hour ________.”

KK15 A disagreement or quarrel: “They had a(n) ________ about where the fence was to be.”

KK16 A great noise or disturbance: “I wish they’d stop making that awful ________.”

KK19 If a machine or appliance is temporarily out of order: “My sewing machine ________.”

KK20a Something that looks as if it might collapse any minute: “That old shed is certainly ________.”

KK20b Something that looks as if it might collapse any minute: “Our old washing machine (is) ________.”

KK21 When something hollow is crushed by a heavy weight, or by a fall: “They ran the wagon over the coffeepot and ________.”

KK22 Other ways of saying ‘completely shattered’: “The jug fell out of the window and was ________.”

KK23 Weak or unsteady: “I think the footbridge will hold, but it is a bit ________.”

KK24 Something that breaks easily: “She broke her arm again; Her bones must be ________.”

KK24a For the urge to urinate, you might say, “I need to ________.”

KK24b For the urge to defecate, you might say,” I need to ________.”

KK25 Something that bends or yields easily: “That willow branch is very ________.”

KK26 Something that makes no difference at all to you: “He can think what he likes, it ________ me.”

KK27 A very lively, active old person: “For her age, she’s ________.”

KK27b What other words might you use instead of ‘really’? “That guy is _________ cool.”

KK28 Feeling ambitious and eager to work:

KK29 To start working very hard: “She was slow at first, but now she’s really ________.”

KK30 Feeling slowed up or without energy: “I certainly feel ________.”

KK31 To go about aimlessly looking for distraction: “He doesn’t have anything to do, so he’s just ________ around.”

KK33 Other ways of saying ‘in succession’: “She had a cold, then the measles, then chicken pox ________.”

KK34a Other expressions meaning very neat and clean: “Their house always looks ________.”

KK34b A small gift, given as a hostess gift or simply as a token of affection:

KK35 When someone wants to pass on a compliment about you, in exchange for one about himself, he says, “I have a(n) ________ for you.”

KK36 Talking about a person who is easily fooled: “It’s easy to ________.”

KK39 Stirred up, agitated: “Because of the storm, the pond was all ________.”

KK40 Other words meaning ‘usually’: “They come twice a month, ________.”

KK41 Something that is very difficult to do: “I managed to get through it, but it was (a) ________.”

KK42a Expressions about a person who does something very easily: “For her, that would be (a) ________.”

KK42b Expressions about a person who does something very easily: “He could do that ________.”

KK45 Other words for a narrow escape: “That time, she really had a(n) ________.”

KK46a Other expressions for taking things as they come and not worrying: “The whole family was sort of ________.”

KK46b Talking about taking the baby out for some air: “I’ll _________ the baby around the block.”

KK47 Something that is left undecided or unfinished: “Perhaps we’d better just ________.”

KK48 When you work something out as you go, without having a plan or pattern to follow: “I didn’t have anything to go by, so I just (did it) ________.”

KK49 When you don’t have the time or ambition to do something thoroughly: “I’m not going to give the place a real cleaning, I’ll just ________.”

KK50 When something is planned out carefully, down to the last detail: “She had it all worked out ________.”

KK51 Very plainly or abruptly: “I asked him ________ what he meant by that.”

KK52 To do something in an indirect and complicated way: “I don’t know why he had to go ________ to do that.”

KK52b When something is done unintentionally, you might say it was done _________ accident.

KK53 When one thing suddenly hits hard against something else: “He ran ________ into a car.”

KK54 Just about equal, very close: “They were both fast runners and it was ________ all the way.”

KK55a To deny something very firmly: “No, not by (a) ________.”

KK55b To deny something very firmly: “Would you work for her?” “Not on your ________.”

KK55c Other expressions of strong denial:

KK56 Wood that is heavy from being in water a long time: It’s ________.

KK57 To take a thing up so as to judge its weight: “That suitcase must weigh forty pounds. Just ________ (it).”

KK58 An excuse that looks as if it would not withstand questioning: “Her story won’t ________.”

KK59 To have a mistaken idea, or to be quite wrong about something: “If he thinks she’ll help him, he’s ________.”

KK60 Having nothing in particular to do: “I’d just as soon go with you this afternoon—I’m ________ anyway.”

KK61 Food taken alone, with nothing added: “Would you like milk or lemon in your tea?” “No thanks, I’ll take it ________.”

KK62 When you want to make it clear that you will not do something: “I wouldn’t do that for ________.”

KK63 To do a clumsy or hurried job of repairing something: “It will never last—he just ________.”

KK64 Speaking of the part of a city that was once very fine, but isn’t anymore: “The neighborhood has sort of (become) ________.”

KK65 Expressions meaning ‘the same sort’: “If you like Bob, I’m sure you’ll like his brother—they’re ________.”

KK67 When people think alike about something: “On that particular thing, we ________.”

KK68 When people don’t think alike about something: “We agree on most things, but on politics we(’re) ________.”

KK70 Something that has gotten out of proper shape: “That house is all ________.”

DARE Data Summary by Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.