Show and Not Tell (Feelings)

‘Show’ phrases, not ‘Tell’ phrases

Sadness / Despair

·       Unable to contain her emotions, she felt her eyes clouding over.

·       “Why? Why?” she sobbed convulsively, her face visibly contorted by intense anguish. Her grief was immeasurable and she refused to be consoled.

·       The bereaved parents grieved over his untimely death.

·       Her eyes blurred with tears as she clasped the faded photograph close to her heart.

·       She was devastated. She felt her whole worls collapse right before her very eyes.

·       For many months after the tragedy, the gnawing grief kept her awake at night.

·       Despite the forced smles, everyone knew that Kim could not get over the tragedy for misery was written all over her face.

·       Kate plunged into a deep depression. She was inconsolable despite her friends’ attempts to cheer her up.

·       Her eyes were red and puffy. She slowly announced the sad news with a heavy heart.

·       “It’s not fair,” she said dejectedly between sobs, lifting her tear-stained face to her mother.

·       Struck by abject misery, he refused to eat. Instead, he seemed to be eaten away – by pain.

·       She tried to speak, but she was choked with tears. Her tear-stained and woebegone face was puffy and swollen with grief.

·       Casting a despondent look, Leo muttered, “It’s over.”

·       Tom had a lump in his throat and was blinking away the tears.

·       He turned his face away, not wanting them to see the tears streaming down his eyes. In between feeble sobs, he said, “Leave me alone.”

·       “I’m so happy,” snivelled Tom miserably.

·       “So much work,” she lamented as she stared at the heap of assessment books on her table, and so little time!”

Anger/ Hostility

·       “Why did you do that for?” she questioned, her glare piercing my soul, and her heart smouldering in resentment.

·       He wore an infuriated expression n his face, evident to all around.

·       The fiery teacher bared his teeth as he hissed menacingly, sending cold chills down the spine of the trembling children.

·       “Just watch out! I’ll make you pay for it!” he muttered under his breath between intensely clenched teeth.

·       “What’s going on here?” she howled, nostrils flaring, her breaths quick, shallow and dangerous.

·       His eyes wildwith hate, he unleashed his fury in one fatal blow, and bludgeoned the woman to death.

·       Out of a sudden, howls of uncontrollable outrage erupted in the background sending everyone into disarray.

·       His fist came thundering down on the wooden table, sending waves f fear across the classroom.

·       I was really hot under the collar when I saw him. Then, much to my own surprise, I screeched like a mad woman, “That’s it! Get out of here!” My patience was exhausted and I was at the ends of my tether!

·       “Stupid dog,” he snarled, kicking it viciously.

·       “What’s the meaning of this?” she raged, her frustration openly exhibited for all to see. Her blood was boiling and steams of fury apparently emitted from her ears.

·       “Shut up!” she howled, marching off in a huff.

·       His face was as black as thunder as he stormed out of the room in a towering rage.

·       My mum was so angry that she was almost foaming at the mouth. I think she has really hit the roof this time. Her angry eyes were as red as burning coals.

·       John’s blow furrowed and he crossed his arms in angry defiance.

·       Mum frowned so hard that her brows almost knitted like a dead knot.

·       She had a really tough day at work. When she reached home, she vented her spleen on her poor husband.

·       His eyes glinted dangerously with anger. “Come here,” he ordered, gritting his teeth in silent fury.

·       “How dare you?” he snarled, seething with indignation. Then he stomped out of the room in unprecedented rage.

Fright/Fear/ Terror

·       The children stood like statues, not daring to move even an inch. They remained motionless, as if in a trance-like state.

·       She tried to compose herself to no avail. Her heart involuntarily palpitated convulsively and fluttered in trepidation.

·       “Don’t …” her lips quivered and her eyes were wild with fear.

·       After a long silence, she cleared her throat, opened her mouth but swallowed her words again before a single syllable was uttered.

·       She opened her mouth to scream but there was only a muffled cry in her throat.

·       Her face blanched and there was a strangled, gurgling sound in her throat.

·       When his eyes met her glare, he lowered his head and looked away almost instantly, like a vampire evading the first rays of the sun.

·       An irrational fear overwhelmed her, causing her heart to pound so hard and fast that it might just leap from her mouth.

·       Her skin crawled as the huge spider waved its thick, hairy legs at her. Her legs started trembling involuntarily like jelly.

·       A black cobra reared up in front of her and she stopped dead in her tracks. Her blood froze and her face turned as white as a sheet.

·       He looked around, and a cold fear gripped him like a frozen vice.

·       The menacing look on the robber’s face made his hair stand on end.

·       “How dare you!” the bully hollered as the frightened children cowered in fear.

·       She crept silently to the bedroom, her heart pounding excessively.

·       I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart and opened the door slowly in fear and trepidation.

·       Sam panicked, dropped his bag and took to his heels.

·       For a moment, we were paralysed with fear. The dog’s eyes flickered ominously as it inched its way towards us.

·       The children shuddered in fear at the mere mention of the bully’s name.

·       “Run!” the woman shrieked in horror.

·       The dangerous glint in the kidnapper’s eyes made us shudder. We could only cast a weak imploring look at our captor.

·       The scream sent shudders down her spine. I could not stop my teeth from chattering and my knees from wobbling.

·       The accused had no defence as he was caught in the act. He was as guilty as sin.

·       His guilty conscience made him reveal what he had done.

·       Guilt was written all over his face. He eventually confessed to being the perpetrator of the unspeakably heinous crimes he committed against his young victims.

·       Pangs of guilt kept him awake for many nights as it slowly consumed him.

·       Fred’s face turned red with shame, and he dared not look anyone in the eye.

·       He was steeped in guilt. He bitterly regretted having betrayed his best friend.

Undecided/Dilemma/Doubt

·       What should I do? I struggled painfully to weigh the pros and cons of my choices, none of which are good.

·       It was like being caught between the rock and a hard place. Either choice I make, I will have to pay a huge price.

·       I was in a fix. The dilemma I was caught in was driving me to my grave. Whatever I do, I will regret.

·       She was still dithering (being indecisive) over whether to buy it or not.

·       We hemmed and hawed (were uncertain and took a long time) before deciding to sell it.

Evil

·       His eyes, originally narrow slits of white, suddenly fluttered open.

·       In the darkness, the green gleaming eyes glared at him menacingly.

·       The dark shape remained in a crouching position.

·       With intense eyes, she uttered a long, drawn-out cry as she charged at him.

·       She peered between my eyes with deep intense eyes, raised a gnarled finger and beckoned me to follow her.

Good/Bravery/ Courage

·       He mustered his courage and confronted the bully.

·       The girl plucked up the courage to enter the dark room alone.

·       Though small in size, the indomitable (Brave and determined) girl said she would confront the perpetrator. To our surprise, she valiantly walked towards the bully, levelled a fearless and unflinching gaze at him, and said firmly, “Give it back to me!”

·       Unlike us who buckled under pressure, he remained unflinching (undeterred) (resolute) in the face of danger.

·       He is known to have nerves of steel. While the rest of us cowered in fear, he fought back bravely, earning unstinting admiration for his courage.

Relief

·       He felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders overnight.

·       His comforting words were like a soothing balm to her anguished soul.

·       Sam was giddy with relief when he finally found his lost mobile phone.

·       “That was close!” she muttered to herself, feeling a wave of relief engulf her.

·       “It’s finally over!” he exclaimed in immense relief.

·       The woman gave an audible sigh of relief when she learnt that her son was unharmed.

·       To my utmost relief, the bus finally arrived.

·       Once he had paid off his debts, he felt he could breathe more easily.

·       Henry heaved a great sigh of relief knowing it was just a joke.

Confusion/ Shock

·       “How embarrassing!” she scorned, as her eyebrows inevitably knitted together, forming a deep disapproving frown.

·       Perplexed, she shot a lost look at me, with a somewhat befuddled look on her face.

·       Baffled, he sheepishly scratched his greasy hair, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “Why me?”

·       “No such person?” he blinked continuously as the words sank in. Ruefully, he realised that he had been tricked.

·       He stood rigidly rooted to the same spot for a minute, gaping with obvious disbelief at what he saw. “There’s nothing we can do,” Ken said, as he held his chest tightly and watched in muted horror.

·       Dazed and confused, she stood wide-eyed at what lay before her. She could only stare stupidly, numb with shock and disbelief, at the bizarre sight.

·       His eyes were blank and wandering, and his jaw hanging. All he could do was watch it happen in abject horror!

·       She shrieked with sheer terror as the snake coiled itself round her foot.

·       “Really?” we gasped, stupefied by the dreadful news.