Improve Your Vocabulary: Stop Saying ‘BIG’ & ‘SMALL’

Hello. My name is Emma; and in today's video, I am going to teach you some

synonyms of the word: "big" and "small". So, what's a "synonym"? We use

"synonyms" a lot in English. A "synonym" is another word that means the same

thing. So, for example, you might know the word: "smart". A "synonym" of

"smart" is: "intelligent". They have the same meaning, but they're different

words. "Synonyms" are important to know, because in English, if you are writing

or you're in conversation, you want to use different words. It's really boring

when someone uses the same word over, and over, and over again; especially in

writing. So, it's good to know some other words that mean the same thing.

So, let's look at some words that mean the same thing as "big". So, I have here

a big circle. What's another word for "big"? Well, we have: "huge". This

circle is "huge". And notice my pronunciation; it's really important to

know how to pronounce a word, how to spell a word, and how to use a word in a

sentence. So, for each of these, keep that in mind. We have: "huge",

"enormous". And notice the stress is on the "nor" part. So, I say "nor" louder

and longer: "enormous". "Massive". This circle is "massive". So, that means very

big. It's "large". The circle is "large". It's a "large" circle. I like

this word: "humungous". It's "humongous". That means: It's very

large. "Humungous". Then we have the word: "giant". The circle... it's a

"giant" circle. We can also say: It's a "gigantic" circle. And, again, notice

the stress or the part we say louder and longer is on the "gan". So: "gigantic".

And I also have one other word, here: "macro". We don't usually use "macro",

like we use these other words. But "macro" means big. So, when you're

reading, and you see the word "macro"... a lot of the times we use "macro" in

academics; it means "large" or "big". So, you might read something about the

"macro economy". This means the "large-scale economy". Okay? So, "macro"

just is another way to say "big", but we don't usually use it in conversation.

So, now, let's look at the opposite of "big", which is "small". What are some

synonyms that mean "small"? Well, we have: "little". "Little". This is a

"little" circle. We have: "mini", "tiny", "micro". "Micro" is the opposite

of "macro" — it means a very small scale. If something is so small, you

can't see it, we say: It's "microscopic". It's too small to see.

And then we have: "miniature". And notice the pronunciation of the "tu" —

it's: "miniature", "ch". It has a "ch" sound: "miniature". Okay. So, these

words all mean "small".

So, I'm going to show you some funny objects from my house, and I want you to

use one of these words to describe what I'm showing you. Okay? So, you can say:

It's huge, it's microscopic, it's tiny — whatever word fits. So, the first thing

I'm going to show you is... I'm really sorry; it's a little bit disgusting.

It's a giant cockroach. If I saw this on my wall at home, I think I would have a

heart attack. This is my nightmare: Having something like this on a wall.

So, what word can you use to describe this? You can say: "It's a huge

cockroach", "it's a massive cockroach", "it's a large cockroach". And, again,

I'm sorry if you're afraid of cockroaches; but if you ever see one,

this is how you can describe it. I have, here, a blue diamond. Unfortunately,

it's not real; because if this were real, I would be a millionaire. But how

can we describe this blue diamond? Well, you can say: "It's enormous", "it's

humongous". Okay? So, you can use any of these words to describe this diamond. I

have, here, this book: "The Unabridged Edgar Allan Poe". Do you think this book

is "small" or "big"? I would say: This book is "big". I'd say it's "huge". It's

"enormous". I have not read this book before. Next, I have my goggles. When I

put them on my face, they're "massive" on me. They're "humongous". They're

"quite large". So, these are "goggles". Okay. Now, let's look at some things

that are "small". And, again, I want you to use any of the words on the board to

talk about these "small" objects. So, I have this. Can you guess what this is?

It's actually a very small boat or canoe. So, which word can we say for

this? We can say: It's "miniature". It's a "miniature" canoe. It's a "mini"

canoe. It's a "tiny" canoe. I have, here... it's very small; you might not

be able to see it that well, but this is the Empire State Building. It's

"miniature". It's "very tiny". This is one of my trophies. It's a "very small"

trophy. It's a "tiny" Oscar. It's not for acting; I'm a horrible actress. This

actually says: "Best cat sitter". I'm very good at babysitting cats, so

somebody gave me this little trophy. And, here, is the last object... object,

sorry. Do you know what this is? It's a hat. Let me put it on my head. Ta-da.

So, this is a "very small" hat. It's a "little" hat, or it's a "tiny" hat.

So, again, we've covered a lot of words today that mean "big" and "small". When

you are using English, it's good to know some synonyms of words you use a lot. We

often talk about "big" things and "little" things when we're describing.

So, learn these words; they're very useful. And remember: Whenever you learn

a new word, it's good to learn how to spell it, pronounce it, use it in a

sentence, and know what it means. Okay? If you do these four things, it will

really help you to remember the word. So, thank you so much for watching this

video. You can practice what you learned today by checking out our website at

www.engvid.com. There, you can actually take a quiz to practice everything you

learned here. You can also subscribe to my channel; don't forget to ring the

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English topics, and just all sorts of different English topics, like grammar,

writing, reading, and pronunciation. You can also check out my website at

www.teacheremma.com There, you will find a lot more English resources. So,

there's a lot of help out there for you. So, until next time, thank you for

watching and take care.