Expressive Quadruples, Page 1 (A-B-C)
This section of EnhanceMyVocabulary.com focuses on expressive quadruples, words in sets of four, to add flavor to your writing and speech, and help build your vocabulary
If you are looking for ways to enliven your writing and speech, this classic collection from Greenville Kleiser includes a huge number of words in sets of four.
You can review these lists when you are struggling for descriptive language for your writing, and you can also use them to develop your vocabulary by identifying, looking up, and learning words you don't know.You may also want to consider the relationships among the words in each set, speculate on why Kleiser grouped these four words together, and think about how each set might be used.
This set consists of quadruple sets of nouns and adjectives.
A
able, skilful, thorough, and genuine
absolute, complete, unqualified, and final
accurate, precise, exact, and truthful
active, alert, vigorous, and industrious
actual, positive, certain, and genuine
adequate, uniform, proportionate, and equitable
adventurous, fine, active, and gossipy
adverse, antagonistic, unfriendly, and hostile
advisable, advantageous, acceptable, and expedient
affable, diffident, humble, and mild
affectionate, tender, loving, and attached
affluent, opulent, abundant, and ample
allurements, pits, snares, and torments
anger, indignation, resentment, and rage
animate, impel, instigate, and embolden
animosity, malice, enmity, and hatred
annul, frustrate, reverse, and destroy
anxiety, caution, watchfulness, and solicitude
apparent, ostensible, plausible, and specious
appropriate, use, arrogate, and usurp
approval, enthusiasm, sympathy, and applause
aptitude, capacity, efficiency, and power
arbitrary, dictatorial, domineering, and imperious
architecture, sculpture, painting, and poetry
ardent, impatient, keen, and vehement
argue, discuss, dispute, and prove
arrangement, place, time, and circumstance
art, science, knowledge, and culture
artful, wily, insincere, and disingenuous
artificial, soulless, hectic, and unreal
assemble, amass, accumulate, and acquire
assiduity, tenderness, industry, and vigilance
assurance, persuasion, fidelity, and loyalty
attention, effort, diligence, and assiduity
august, magnanimous, important, and distinguished
authoritative, independent, arbitrary, and supreme
avaricious, grasping, miserly, and parsimonious
aversion, dislike, hatred, and repugnance
B
bad, vicious, unwholesome, and distressing
babble, prate, chatter, and prattle
barbarous, brutal, inhuman, and cruel
base, cowardly, abject, and hideous
battle, defeat, frustrate, and ruin
bearing, deportment, manner, and behavior
beg, entreat, implore, and supplicate
beliefs, doctrines, ceremonies, and practices
boorish, clownish, rude, and uncultivated
boundless, immeasurable, unlimited, and infinite
bravery, courage, fearlessness, and confidence
breadth, knowledge, vision, and power
brilliant, beautiful, elegant, and faithful
broaden, enlarge, extend, and augment
business, profession, occupation, and vocation
C
candid, sincere, familiar, and ingenuous
captious, petulant, peevish, and splenetic
cautious, discreet, considerate, and provident
certain, confident, positive, and unquestionable
chagrin, vexation, irritation, and mortification
character, disposition, temperament, and reputation
charm, fascinate, bewitch, and captivate
cheap, inexpensive, inferior, and common
cheer, animate, vivify, and exhilarate
chiefly, particularly, principally, and especially
childhood, youth, manhood, and age
circumstance, condition, environment, and surroundings
claim, grab, trick, and compel
clean, fastidious, frugal, and refined
clear, distinct, obvious, and intelligible
clumsy, crawling, snobbish, and comfort-loving
coarse, gross, offensive, and nauseous
coax, flatter, wheedle, and persuade
cogitate, contemplate, meditate, and ponder
cold, frigid, unfeeling, and stoical
commanding, authoritative, imperative, and peremptory
compassion, goodwill, admiration, and enthusiasm
confirm, establish, sustain, and strengthen
conform, submit, obey, and satisfy
confuse, distort, involve, and misinterpret
consistent, congruous, firm, and harmonious
cool, collected, calm, and self-possessed
copious, commanding, sonorous, and emotional
cowardly, timid, shrinking, and timorous
crazy, absurd, nonsensical, and preposterous
crude, rough, jagged, and pitiless
Go back to the Main Page of Expressive Quadruples... or ... Go to the Next Page: Expressive Quadruples, Page 2 (D-E).
Editor's note: This section of EnhanceMyVocabulary.com is excerpted and adapted from Project Gutenberg's Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases, by Grenville Kleiser.
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