11+ words for weather and nature
Words for weather, landscapes, plants and animals: tempest, arid, parched, flourish, nocturnal. Some come as near-twins: tepid and lukewarm mean much the same thing, and so do sodden and drenched.
There are 49 words here: 26 describing words, 11 doing words and 12 naming words. Each has its meaning, an example sentence and similar words. Tap a word for its opposites and a practice question.
Describing words (adjectives)26
- adverse
- Unhelpful or harmful; working against you.
- The match was cancelled because of adverse weather: thunder, hail and howling wind.
- Similar: harmful, damaging, unfavourable
- arid
- Very dry, with almost no rain at all.
- Nothing grew in the arid desert except a few tough, thorny plants.
- Similar: dry, dusty, thirsty
- atrocious
- Extremely bad or unpleasant.
- The weather was atrocious, with rain hammering down and wind ripping umbrellas inside out.
- Similar: awful, terrible, vile
- bleak
- Cold, empty and without much hope.
- The moor looked bleak in January: grey sky, bare trees and biting wind.
- Similar: gloomy, grim, bare
- dreary
- Dull, grey and boring.
- It was a dreary Monday, with grey skies and drizzle that never stopped.
- Similar: dull, gloomy, boring
- drenched
- Completely soaked with water.
- Caught in the sudden downpour without a coat, we arrived home drenched from head to toe.
- Similar: soaked, wet, dripping
- fertile
- Able to grow plenty of healthy plants or crops.
- The farmer planted his crops in the fertile soil by the river.
- Similar: productive, rich, fruitful
- fragrant
- Having a sweet, pleasant smell.
- The fragrant roses filled the whole garden with the smell of summer.
- Similar: scented, sweet, perfumed
- frigid
- Extremely cold.
- The explorers pulled their hoods tight against the frigid Arctic wind.
- Similar: freezing, icy, cold
- glorious
- Wonderfully beautiful or impressive.
- We woke to a glorious morning: golden sunshine, clear blue sky and birdsong everywhere.
- Similar: wonderful, splendid, lovely
- humid
- Warm and damp, with lots of moisture in the air.
- The jungle was so humid that their shirts stuck to their backs within minutes.
- Similar: damp, sticky, moist
- lethal
- Able to cause death.
- The label warned that the berries were lethal and must never be eaten.
- Similar: deadly, fatal
- lukewarm
- Only slightly warm, or not very enthusiastic.
- The bath had gone lukewarm, and so had Dad's interest in the film.
- Similar: warmish, mild, half-hearted
- lush
- Growing thickly, green and healthy.
- After the rains, the valley turned lush, with grass up to the ponies' knees.
- Similar: green, rich, thick
- molten
- Melted into hot liquid by great heat.
- Molten rock glowed orange as it crept down the volcano's side.
- Similar: melted, liquid, runny
- nocturnal
- Awake and active at night instead of during the day.
- Owls are nocturnal, so they hunt in the dark while we are fast asleep.
- Similar: night-time
- noxious
- Harmful or poisonous, especially a gas or smell.
- A noxious green smoke drifted up from the potion, and everyone pinched their noses.
- Similar: harmful, poisonous, nasty
- overcast
- Covered with grey cloud and dull.
- The sky was so overcast that we never saw the sun once during the whole picnic.
- Similar: cloudy, grey, gloomy
- parched
- Extremely dry, or very thirsty.
- After the long desert trek, the parched travellers gulped down a whole bottle of water each.
- Similar: dry, thirsty, baked
- pungent
- Having a very strong, sharp smell or taste.
- A pungent whiff of blue cheese escaped the moment the lunchbox opened.
- Similar: strong, sharp, smelly
- sodden
- Completely soaked through with water.
- After the downpour, our socks were sodden and squelched with every step.
- Similar: soaked, drenched, wet
- stagnant
- Not moving or flowing, and often smelly and stale.
- Mosquitoes buzzed over the stagnant pond, which had not stirred for weeks.
- Similar: still, stale, motionless
- temperate
- Mild, without extremes of heat or cold.
- Britain has a temperate climate, with warm summers and cool winters.
- Similar: mild, moderate, gentle
- tempestuous
- Stormy and wild, or full of strong emotions.
- The ship was tossed about on the tempestuous sea.
- Similar: stormy, turbulent, wild
- tepid
- Only slightly warm.
- Nobody wanted the tepid soup, which had been sitting out since lunchtime.
- Similar: lukewarm, warmish, mild
- turbulent
- Full of sudden movement, confusion or trouble.
- The little plane bumped and lurched through the turbulent air above the storm.
- Similar: stormy, rough, wild
Doing words (verbs)11
- conserve
- To protect something from harm, or to save it from being wasted.
- We turn off the tap while brushing our teeth to conserve water.
- Similar: save, protect, preserve
- cultivate
- To grow plants, or to work at improving something.
- The class worked together to cultivate a vegetable patch behind the school.
- Similar: grow, farm, tend
- erode
- To wear something away slowly, little by little.
- Over thousands of years, the waves eroded the cliff until the old tower toppled into the sea.
- Similar: wear, corrode, weather
- flourish
- To grow strongly and do very well.
- With sunshine and daily watering, the sunflowers flourished until they towered over the fence.
- Similar: thrive, bloom, grow
- infest
- To swarm over a place in large, unwanted numbers.
- Ants infested the picnic basket, crawling over every sandwich.
- Similar: swarm, overrun, invade
- nourish
- To feed something so it grows healthy and strong.
- Rain and sunshine nourish the garden until the tomatoes turn fat and red.
- Similar: feed, nurture
- quench
- To stop your thirst by drinking, or to put out a fire.
- One long drink from the cold stream was enough to quench his burning thirst.
- Similar: satisfy, soothe, cool
- sow
- To plant seeds in the ground so they can grow.
- In spring we sow carrot seeds in neat rows in the vegetable patch.
- Similar: plant, scatter, seed
- swelter
- To feel uncomfortably hot.
- We sweltered in the packed hall while the sun blazed through the windows.
- Similar: roast, bake, boil
- wilt
- To droop and become floppy from lack of water or energy.
- Without rain, the sunflowers began to wilt, their heads bowing to the ground.
- Similar: droop, sag, flop
- wither
- To dry up, shrivel and die, like a plant without water.
- The roses withered in the vase, their petals curling and dropping one by one.
- Similar: wilt, shrivel, droop
Naming words (nouns)12
- drought
- A long time with little or no rain, when the land dries out.
- During the drought, the pond in the park dried up completely.
- Similar: dryness
- extinction
- The dying out of a whole kind of animal or plant, so that none are left.
- The dinosaurs' extinction happened millions of years ago.
- Similar: disappearance
- famine
- A time when there is not enough food for many people to eat.
- In the old story, a famine forced the villagers to share every scrap of food.
- Similar: starvation, hunger, shortage
- gale
- A very strong wind.
- The gale ripped tiles off the roof and bent the trees almost double.
- Similar: storm, wind, gust
- mirage
- Something you seem to see, often in heat, that is not really there.
- Thirsty travellers chased the shimmering lake, but it was only a mirage above the hot sand.
- Similar: illusion, trick
- ripple
- A tiny wave that moves across the surface of water.
- A single ripple spread across the still pond where the frog had slipped in.
- Similar: wave
- tempest
- A violent storm with strong winds.
- The tempest hurled waves over the harbour wall and rattled every window in town.
- Similar: storm, gale, hurricane
- torrent
- A fast, powerful rush of water or words.
- After the storm, the gentle stream became a roaring torrent.
- Similar: flood, rush, downpour
- vapour
- A gas that forms when a liquid evaporates, or a fine mist of tiny drops hanging in the air.
- Warm vapour rose from the kettle and misted up the kitchen window.
- Similar: mist, steam, haze
- venom
- The poison that some snakes and spiders make, or great bitterness in words.
- The cobra's venom can stop a mouse in seconds.
- Similar: poison, toxin
- vermin
- The small wild creatures, such as rats, mice and fleas, that cause damage or spread disease.
- The farmer set traps because vermin had been nibbling the grain sacks.
- Similar: pests
- zephyr
- A soft, gentle breeze.
- A zephyr stirred the curtains on the warm summer evening.
- Similar: breeze