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www.espressoenglish.net © Shayna Oliveira 2014 Lesson 26: Perceptions of the Senses Today you'll learn a great variety of words for describing the perceptions of

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Published by , 2016-09-26 21:24:03

Lesson 26: Perceptions of the Senses

www.espressoenglish.net © Shayna Oliveira 2014 Lesson 26: Perceptions of the Senses Today you'll learn a great variety of words for describing the perceptions of

Lesson 26: Perceptions of the Senses

Today you'll learn a great variety of words for describing the perceptions of
the five senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

Sight

If something is easy to see, it can be described as clear or distinct – the
opposite of distinct is something that is blurry/blurred.

A blurry photo
A place where there is very little light is dim, and an area that is protected
from light can be described as shadowy.

A dim room and a shadowy area
When colors are very strong, we call them bold or vivid colors. The opposite
is pale or pastel colors, which are very light. Something that is colorless and
rather ugly can be described as drab (usually brown or grey).

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© Shayna Oliveira 2014

When something has very small dots of a different color, it is speckled – and
when the colors are all mixed together and not distinct, it is mottled.

a speckled egg and a mottled bowl
When something is a different color from what it is supposed to be (because it
is dirty or damaged) it is discolored. Your teeth can become discolored from
coffee, or your ceiling can become discolored due to water damage.
There are a number of words for light – something that emits a steady light is
glowing, and something that emits an unsteady light (like a candle) is
flickering.

The city lights are glowing; the candle is flickering
When an object – such as a crystal – reflects light in a pleasant way, it is
sparkling or glittering.

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© Shayna Oliveira 2014

Touch

Something that feels slightly wet to the touch is damp or moist. “Damp” has a
slightly negative connotation, and “moist” is a little more positive. If your
clothes are damp, they haven’t yet dried completely. But a moist cake is a
good thing.
The word gummy describes something that is sticky and soft, like chewing
gum. A sticky and thick liquid is described as gooey (like honey).

Chewing gum is gummy; honey is gooey
Something that is smooth and pleasant is silky – like the fabric called silk.
Something that feels like it is covered with an oily substance is slimy – a word
with a disgusting connotation. Worms and slugs are slimy.

silky vs. slimy
Finally, we have things that are soft to the touch. Something like cotton candy
that is light and airy is fluffy, and something like a marshmallow which is a
little more solid (but still soft and squeezable) is spongy – like a sponge.

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© Shayna Oliveira 2014

Cotton candy is fluffy; marshmallows are spongy

Smell / Taste

English has different words for good and bad smells. If something is aromatic
or fragrant, it smells nice. A noun for a nice smell is a scent. But if something
is smelly or stinky, it smells bad. Nouns for unpleasant smells include odor
and stench.

Something that tastes good is delicious or tasty. If something looks like it
tastes good, then you can describe it as mouthwatering. A food that is full of
flavor is said to be rich – but if it has little or no flavor, it is bland or tasteless.

A food that looks like it tastes bad is unappetizing – and something that tastes
so bad it can’t be eaten is unpalatable. Sometimes a food has too much of a
certain flavor, and in this case you can say the taste or smell is overpowering
– so strong you can’t stand it.

When food has gone bad, it tastes and smells rancid, rotten, or spoiled.
There’s a specific word for bread/crackers that have passed their validity –
these are stale.

Sound

There are tons of words for sounds in English, and many of them sound a little
like what they are describing.

We have explosive sounds like boom (for an explosion), bang (for a gunshot
or a door slamming), and pop (for a noise like a champagne bottle opening).

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© Shayna Oliveira 2014

A champagne bottle goes "pop"
Noises for impacts include crash (a violent and noisy impact, where things are
breaking) and thump/thud for a dull, blunt impact, like when you drop a
heavy bag on the floor.

Breaking glass makes a crashing sound
Noises with water include a gurgle (the sound of water flowing through a
space) and a splash – the sound made when an object/person enters the
water.

"Splash" refers to both the sound and the water that flies up

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© Shayna Oliveira 2014

Bees make a buzzing sound, machines in operation often make a continuous
humming or whirring sound, some clocks tick, and a metallic sound is called
a clang.

Bees buzz; machines like a ceiling fan hum or whirr
Finally, a few sounds with air include a hiss (like a snake) and a
swish/swoosh/whoosh, which is the sound of something moving fast
through the air.

Snakes hiss

Vocabulary Builder Course – $30

Level 2: Upper-Intermediate & Advanced Students

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2014

Pronunciation Practice

blurry, dim, shadowy, vivid, pale, pastel, drab, speckled, mottled, discolored,
glowing, flickering, sparkling, glittering, damp, moist, gummy, gooey, silky,
slimy, fluffy, spongy, aromatic, fragrant, scent, smelly, stinky, odor, stench,
mouthwatering, bland, tasteless, unappetizing, unpalatable, overpowering,
rancid, rotten, spoiled, stale, boom, bang, pop, crash, thump, thud, gurgle,
splash, buzz, hum, whirr, tick, clang, hiss, swish, swoosh, whoosh

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2014

Lesson 26 Worksheet

Complete each sentence with the correct word:

bang discolored gooey overpowering silky
bland flickering hissing pop stench
blurry fluffy mottled rancid unappetizing
damp glittered mouthwatering scent whirring

1. A sapphire bracelet ______________ on the woman's wrist.
2. He slammed the window shut with a loud ______________.
3. His forehead was _______________ with sweat as he carried the heavy

boxes.
4. I found the cuisine of that country rather _______________ - tasted like it

needed more seasonings or spices.
5. This milk is ______________ - it's two weeks past its expiration date.
6. I need to use my glasses for driving. Without them, everything is

_________________.
7. Janet made a batch of _______________ double chocolate brownies; I can't

wait to taste them!
8. My cat has _______________ brown, black, and white fur.
9. The little boy's face was covered in ________________ melted chocolate.
10. Poodles may look cute and ________________, but they can actually be

quite aggressive.
11. That seafood salad looks rather ________________; I think I'll pass.
12. The air made a _______________ noise as it leaked out of the tire.
13. The cowboys laughed and told stories by the _______________ light of

the campfire.

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© Shayna Oliveira 2014

14. The lid of the jar loosened with a soft ______________.
15. I hate talking to him because I can't stand the _____________ of his

bad breath.
16. The portrait was damaged by smoke during the fire and now one

corner of the canvas is __________________.
17. This lotion has a lovely lavender _______________.
18. My cat hates the _____________ sound of the vacuum cleaner.
19. This new conditioner will leave your hair ________________ and shiny.
20. I wish my roommate wouldn't wear so much perfume. The smell

is really ____________________.

Vocabulary Practice

E-mail me your answers at [email protected] !

Besides the examples mentioned in this lesson, name one...

 thing with pastel colors
 place that is shadowy
 thing that is mottled
 thing that sparkles
 thing that is gooey
 animal that is fluffy
 thing that is fragrant
 thing that is stinky
 food that you find mouthwatering
 food that you find tasteless
 food that you find unappetizing

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2014

 thing that makes a popping sound
 thing that makes a thumping sound
 thing that makes a humming sound
 thing that makes a hissing sound

ANSWERS:

1. glittered
2. bang
3. damp
4. bland
5. rancid
6. blurry
7. mouthwatering
8. mottled
9. gooey
10. fluffy
11. unappetizing
12. hissing
13. flickering
14. pop
15. stench
16. discolored
17. scent
18. whirring
19. silky
20. overpowering

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2014

Image sources:
 Pro2, Ardfern, © Jorge Royan / http://www.royan.com.ar / CC-BY-SA-3.0, Father.Jack from
Coventry, UK, FocalPoint, Sanjay Acharya, Elkagye, Mary (Mayr) from Southern California, U.S.A.,
Brocken Inaglory, Swamibu, Timothy Titus, Paul Harvey, Mike.plante, aussiegall, ceridwen

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2014


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