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The idea for the Describing Words engine came when I was building the engine for Related Words (it’s like a thesaurus, but gives you a much broader set of related words, rather than just synonyms). While playing around with word vectors and the «HasProperty» API of conceptnet, I had a bit of fun trying to get the adjectives which commonly describe a word. Eventually I realised that there’s a much better way of doing this: parse books!
Project Gutenberg was the initial corpus, but the parser got greedier and greedier and I ended up feeding it somewhere around 100 gigabytes of text files — mostly fiction, including many contemporary works. The parser simply looks through each book and pulls out the various descriptions of nouns.
Hopefully it’s more than just a novelty and some people will actually find it useful for their writing and brainstorming, but one neat little thing to try is to compare two nouns which are similar, but different in some significant way — for example, gender is interesting: «woman» versus «man» and «boy» versus «girl». On an inital quick analysis it seems that authors of fiction are at least 4x more likely to describe women (as opposed to men) with beauty-related terms (regarding their weight, features and general attractiveness). In fact, «beautiful» is possibly the most widely used adjective for women in all of the world’s literature, which is quite in line with the general unidimensional representation of women in many other media forms. If anyone wants to do further research into this, let me know and I can give you a lot more data (for example, there are about 25000 different entries for «woman» — too many to show here).
The blueness of the results represents their relative frequency. You can hover over an item for a second and the frequency score should pop up. The «uniqueness» sorting is default, and thanks to my Complicated Algorithm™, it orders them by the adjectives’ uniqueness to that particular noun relative to other nouns (it’s actually pretty simple). As you’d expect, you can click the «Sort By Usage Frequency» button to adjectives by their usage frequency for that noun.
Special thanks to the contributors of the open-source mongodb which was used in this project.
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The change was effected without any legislative act, simply by the process of transfer under circumstances in which simplicity and uniformity were an absolute necessity.
‘It does seem a pity not to, in some ways; everything would be all nicely settled up, just like the fourth act of a play.
Points of this kind, which the handwriting of Dickens illustrates so well, have a deeper meaning for the observant than for the casual reader of a magazine article; they indicate that these little human acts, which have been so long overlooked by intelligent men, do really give us valuable data for the study of mind by means of written—gesture.
In the fifth act he had to make rather a long speech to Smith
The mere act of putting a fellow—creature to death was in itself odious and terrible to a disposition naturally so gentle as Hamlet‘s was.
«I allude to the very natural suspicion that the act beheld by your man Clarke was a criminal act, and that Ranelagh is the man really responsible for Miss Cumberland‘s death.
Next day the great men and leaders were again assembled to declare publicly by an official act their fealty to Kai—khosráu, and Tús was also invited to the banquet, which was held on the occasion, but he refused to go.
In the filaments brushed across the face of my understanding I could discover none so strong as to support an overt act on my part.
Why should they care to live when that noble fellow has been dishonored by your cruel acts?
In 829, during an assembly held at Worms, he, yielding to his wife‘s entreaties, and doubtless also to his own yearnings toward his youngest son, set at naught the solemn act whereby, in 817, he had shared his dominions among his three elder sons; and took away from two of them, in Burgundy and Alemannia, some of the territories he had assigned to them, and gave them to the boy Charles for his share.
Whatever state was first must have been from eternity, and what had been from eternity could not be changed, but by a cause beginning to act, as it had never acted before, that is, by the voluntary act of some external power.
And Germany is obliged not to consider these «sanctions« as hostile acts.
In these circumstances, and confronted by one of the most dangerous crises of his whole life, Lorenzo rose to the occasion and effected a solution of the difficulty by daring to perform what was undoubtedly one of the bravest acts ever achieved by a diplomatist.
This was not strictly necessary, as they had been accustomed for eight centuries to acquiesce in all sorts of unlawful acts which history demonstrated to be the will of Allah.
Every subsequent act of his life shows his sincerity and his devotion to his Church against his own interests.
Then, cautiously, and with many misgivings as to whether it was not a mad act that I was attempting, I climbed slowly down, using the rope as a support, until I reached the hole.
«This article shall not apply, however, to any case, in which a power has committed an unfriendly act against the members of the League of Nations as defined in Article I and in which commercial and trade relations are denied or restricted by agreements between the members as a measure of restoration or protection of the rights of a power injured by such unfriendly act.
It has been maintained that a formal and definitive act, forming the initial point of the feudalization of England, is to be found in a clause of the laws, as they are called, of the Conqueror; which directs that every freeman shall affirm, by covenant and oath, that «he will be faithful to King William within England and without, will join him in preserving his lands and honor with all fidelity, and defend him against his enemies.«
In justice to the Russian Government it should be stated, however, that the joy of persecution was not the motive which led to the arbitrary acts.
When we see a foul and noxious worm, to tread it under foot is a virtuous act.
She saw that his fair words were only intended to prevent her from desperate acts and reserve her for the degradation of his triumph.
] BOOK XIX Teachings of Various Chief Disciples «The learned official,« said Tsz—chang, «who when he sees danger ahead will risk his very life, who when he sees a chance of success is mindful of what is just and proper, who in his religious acts is mindful of the duty of reverence, and when in mourning thinks of his loss, is indeed a fit and proper person for his place.
At last he bethought himself that he had slept in the arbor that is on the side of the hill; and falling down upon his knees, he asked God forgiveness for that his foolish act, and then went back to look for his roll.
The worship of the genesiac principle is as often characterized by an excessive austerity as by indulgence in sexual acts.
«I can understand your reticence, if your knowledge included the fact of Miss Cumberland‘s heroic act and her sister‘s manner of death at the club—house.
Table of Contents
- What is the adjective for ACT?
- What is a verb that acts as an adjective?
- What is the verb for ACT?
- Is act a verb or adjective?
- Is act a noun or verb?
- What is the Derivating word of act?
- What’s another word for relocated?
- How do you use the word act?
- What is act and example?
- What does act mean in text?
- What does it mean to act on something?
- What is the phrasal verb of act on?
- What is the phrasal verb of ACT UP?
- What does it mean add up?
- What’s the meaning of something doesn’t add up?
- How do you use add up?
- How do you give additional information?
- What is additional details in resume?
- What are adding words?
- What is an example of emphasis?
- How do you say the word emphasis?
- How do you indicate the word stress?
- How do you use emphasize in a sentence?
- How do you express emphasis in writing?
- Do we say emphasize on?
- What are the words and expressions that emphasize a point?
- What is a good transition word?
- What part of speech is act?
- What is the abstract noun of act?
- What is the noun of choose?
- What is the verb for Choose?
- What word is choose?
- What is the verb of sad?
- What’s a fancy word for SAD?
- How do you express cute words?
active. Having the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting;—opposed to passive, that receives. Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body; nimble. In action; actually proceeding; working; in force.
What is a verb that acts as an adjective?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. An attributive verb is a verb that modifies (expresses an attribute of) a noun in the manner of an attributive adjective, rather than express an independent idea as a predicate.
What is the verb for ACT?
act Definitions and Synonyms
| present tense | |
|---|---|
| he/she/it | acts |
| present participle | acting |
| past tense | acted |
| past participle | acted |
Is act a verb or adjective?
verb (used with object) to behave as: He acted the fool.
Is act a noun or verb?
act (verb) ACT (abbreviation) acting (adjective) acting (noun) vanishing act (noun)
What is the Derivating word of act?
#139 act → drive, do The Latin root act means “do.” This Latin root is the word origin of a large number of English vocabulary words, including actor, action, and active. The root act is easily recalled via the word act, for an act is something having been “done.”
What’s another word for relocated?
What is another word for relocate?
| move | transfer |
|---|---|
| shift | remove |
| displace | reposition |
| transpose | dislocate |
| budge | disturb |
How do you use the word act?
- [S] [T] We must act. ( CK)
- [S] [T] Act your age. ( CK)
- [S] [T] Act like a man. ( CK)
- [S] [T] He acts quickly. ( CM)
- [S] [T] How did Tom act? ( CK)
- [S] [T] Tom acted alone. ( CK)
- [S] [T] Tom acts scared. ( CK)
- [S] [T] You need to act. ( CK)
What is act and example?
0. An act is defined as an action or something which is done. Drawing, eating and pretending you are someone else are all examples of an act.
What does act mean in text?
ACT — SAT type test.
What does it mean to act on something?
: to use (something, such as a feeling or suggestion) as a reason or basis for doing something They never acted on the information they had.
What is the phrasal verb of act on?
to take action as a result of advice, information, etc. Acting on information from a member of the public, the police raided the club.
What is the phrasal verb of ACT UP?
Act up- Misbehave; behave badly or strangely. ‘My computer has been acting up recently. I need to get it repaired. It’s probably got a virus.
What does it mean add up?
intransitive verb. 1a : to come to the expected total the bill doesn’t add up. b : to form an intelligible pattern : make sense her story just doesn’t add up. 2a : amount sense 1b —used with to the play adds up to a lot of laughs. b : to amount to a lot just a little each time, but it all adds up.
What’s the meaning of something doesn’t add up?
If a situation does not add up, there is no reasonable or likely explanation for it: Why would she disappear the day before her holiday? It just doesn’t add up.
How do you use add up?
Examples of ‘add up to’ in a sentence add up to
- Using it can add up to 70 worth in a year.
- The total added up to three times the actual profits.
- Pick the ones you fancy so they add up to your daily total.
- All that can add up to a significant weight loss.
- All can add up to a bitter pill to swallow.
How do you give additional information?
Ways of adding extra information – thesaurus
- namely. adverb. used for introducing more detailed information about a subject that you are discussing.
- incidentally. adverb.
- furthermore. adverb.
- anyhow. adverb.
- anyway. adverb.
- not to mention. phrase.
- even so. phrase.
- the fact that. phrase.
What is additional details in resume?
What is additional information on your resume? Additional information is any relevant skills, qualifications or characteristics that can round out your work experience with life experience and shows you are an inquisitive and curious person who pursues outside passions and can show unique energy at work.
What are adding words?
The Basic Operations
| Symbol | Words Used |
|---|---|
| + | Addition, Add, Sum, Plus, Increase, Total |
| − | Subtraction, Subtract, Minus, Less, Difference, Decrease, Take Away, Deduct |
| × | Multiplication, Multiply, Product, By, Times, Lots Of |
| ÷ | Division, Divide, Quotient, Goes Into, How Many Times |
What is an example of emphasis?
The definition of emphasis is special attention put on something to give it importance. An example of emphasis is bolding the font of a particular word in a document to bring attention to it. An example of emphasis is a woman wearing a low cut shirt in order to bring attention to her cleavage.
How do you say the word emphasis?
Here are 4 tips that should help you perfect your pronunciation of ’emphasis’:
- Break ’emphasis’ down into sounds: [EM] + [FUH] + [SIS] – say it out loud and exaggerate the sounds until you can consistently produce them.
- Record yourself saying ’emphasis’ in full sentences, then watch yourself and listen.
How do you indicate the word stress?
If you keep a vocabulary book, make a note to show which syllable is stressed. If you do not know, you can look in a dictionary. All dictionaries give the phonetic spelling of a word. This is where they show which syllable is stressed, usually with an apostrophe (‘) just before or just after the stressed syllable.
How do you use emphasize in a sentence?
Emphasize Sentence Examples
- To emphasize his words, he lifted her hand and placed it over his heart.
- The chroniclers emphasize the fact that this king was not of royal descent.
- He spoke louder to emphasize his next point in the speech.
How do you express emphasis in writing?
The simplest way to add emphasis in writing is to use punctuation, such as the exclamation point (!) for dramatic sentences, or formatting, such as using italics, to draw attention to particular words or phrases.
Do we say emphasize on?
You can place emphasis on something, or you can emphasize it, but you can’t emphasize on it or stress on it, though you can place stress on it.
What are the words and expressions that emphasize a point?
Transitions to Emphasize a Point
| again | for this reason | moreover |
|---|---|---|
| in fact | so | with this in mind |
What is a good transition word?
And, in addition to, furthermore, moreover, besides, than, too, also, both-and, another, equally important, first, second, etc., again, further, last, finally, not only-but also, as well as, in the second place, next, likewise, similarly, in fact, as a result, consequently, in the same way, for example, for instance.
What part of speech is act?
part of speech: intransitive verb. inflections: acts, acting, acted.
What is the abstract noun of act?
List 13 – Forming Abstract Nouns
| Verb | Abstract Noun | Abstract Noun |
|---|---|---|
| act | action | knowledge |
| appear | appearance | laughter |
| behave | behavior | loss |
| believe | belief | marriage |
What is the noun of choose?
choose is a verb, choice is a noun and an adjective, choosy is an adjective:He chose Susan as a dance partner.
What is the verb for Choose?
verb (used with object), chose; cho·sen or (Obsolete) chose; choos·ing. to select from a number of possibilities; pick by preference: She chose Sunday for her departure. to prefer or decide (to do something): He chose to run for election.
What word is choose?
transitive verb. 1a : to select freely and after consideration choose a career. b : to decide on especially by vote : elect chose her as captain. 2a : to have a preference for choose one car over another. b : decide chose to go by train.
What is the verb of sad?
sadden. (transitive) To make sad or unhappy. (intransitive, rare) To become sad or unhappy.
What’s a fancy word for SAD?
1 unhappy, despondent, disconsolate, discouraged, gloomy, downcast, downhearted, depressed, dejected, melancholy.
How do you express cute words?
cute
- endearing, adorable, lovable, sweet, lovely, appealing, engaging, delightful, dear, darling, winning, winsome, charming, enchanting.
- attractive, pretty, as pretty as a picture.
- chocolate-box.
- Scottish, Northern English bonny.
- informal cutesy, dinky, twee, pretty-pretty, adorbs.
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#1
Hello, my friends,
I was wondering whether act could be modified by an adjective:
«He acted different on the stage from the daily life.»
Thoughts and context: I find in a thread that someone tried to explain the adjective use of adult he made a sentence like he acted ‘adult’. Then I have this question. I intend to say he is a different person on the stage.
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#2
The modifier is always an adverb. ‘Different’ is an adverb in your example.
I could say, ‘acted strong’, but I don’t know that ‘strong’ is still acting as an adjective, the reason is that it is modifying the verb.
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#3
The modifier is always an adverb. ‘Different’ is an adverb in your example.
I could say, ‘acted strong’, but I don’t know that ‘strong’ is still acting as an adjective, the reason is that it is modifying the verb.
The sentence wrote by an native speaker is that:
«adjective «adult» almost always means «mature», and is a compliment. Many folks hit 30 and don’t act «adult» yet.»
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#4
If you are asking if «Act adult» (a phrase I have not heard) means the same as «Act mature») which is common, I suppose the speaker could mean that.
Depending on the context, I might well understand the usage. Apart from that you are right, there is a difference between adult and mature.
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#6
‘Different’ is an adverb in your example.
What do you mean by this? I don’t find different could be used as an adverb in dictionary.
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#7
According to my understanding if the word modifies the verb, changes the verb, it is an adverb. If the dictionary
says its not an adverb, then I don’t mind. For the most part I am here to help people to understand and speak English.
Sometimes, as you learn, knowing the part of speech is helpful.
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#8
According to my understanding if the word modifies the verb, changes the verb, it is an adverb. If the dictionary
says its not an adverb, then I don’t mind. For the most part I am here to help people to understand and speak English.
Sometimes, as you learn, knowing the part of speech is helpful.
Got it. Thank you very much.