Adjectives for describing festivals discuss and agree

Adjectives for describing festivals discuss and agree

Share your (positive or negative) experiences of and opinions on festivals and celebrations using the adjectives below, and see if your partner agrees.

Useful phrases for sharing your opinions and experiences “In my experience,…” “I have (often/ usually/ always) found that…” “When I…”   “In my honest opinion,…/ To be frank,…/ Frankly,…” “Without a doubt,…/ It seems clear to me that…” “This may be a controversial opinion, but…” “I don’t expect many people to agree with me, but…” “For me,…/ In my personal opinion,…/ Personally,…” “It could be said that…” “I imagine that…/ I get the impression that…” “… looks/ sounds/ seems/ appears…” “… has a(n) … air” “… strikes me as…”   “From what I’ve heard/ seen/ read/…,…” “I saw a video (on…) in which…”   “In modern society/ In the modern world/ Unlike in the past,…”   “If we think about…/ If we consider…,…./ Looking at…,…/ As far as… goes,…”   “Compared to…,…/ If we compare…, and…” “(Among…,) it’s (by far) the most…/ the …est…”

Share some opinions which you shared with the class and see if the other groups agree.

Ask about any vocabulary which you don’t understand, can’t make example sentences out of, are not sure you used correctly, etc, working together as a class to make suitable sentences each time.

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Adjectives to describe festivals and celebrations with

• (slightly/ much) better/ …er/ more… than… – (a bit/ far) worse/ less… than…
• amateurish – professional
• Americanised
• an acquired taste – an instant hit
• annoying/ irritating/ infuriating
• atmospheric
• austere/ minimalist/ minimalistic – over the top/ excessive
• authentic/ genuine/ real – inauthentic/ fake/ ruined/ spoiled (by…)
• beautiful/ gorgeous/ stunning/ pretty – ugly/ hideous
• booming – declining/ doomed
• changed (out of all recognition) – unchanged
• cheesy/ tacky/ cheap and cheerful
• colourful
• comforting – edgy
• commercialised
• conservative – avantgarde
• controversial – uncontroversial/ universally…
• cruel/ unkind
• cult/ cultish – universal
• cute/ quaint
• dangerous/ risky
• difficult/ hard
• dirty/ unsanitary
• disappointing/ underwhelming – satisfying
• disgusting/ revolting/ yucky/ sickening/ repulsive
• educational
• emotional/ moving/ poignant/ touching/ sad – emotionless/ cold
• energetic/ manic – calm/ calming/ low key
• energising – tiring/ exhausting
• environmentally friendly/ green – environmentally unfriendly
• exciting/ thrilling – unexciting
• exclusive – inclusive
• exotic
• expensive/ pricey/ exorbitant/ overpriced – cheap/ reasonable
• (justly/ unjustly) famous/ infamous/ well-known/ iconic/ representative – obscure
• fantastic/ excellent/ superb/ wonderful/ amazing/ unbelievable – terrible/ awful
• frightening/ scary/ terrifying
• fun/ enjoyable – boring/ dull/ tedious
• funny/ amusing/ hilarious – serious/ unamusing
• happy/ cheerful/ joyful – sad/ depressing/ joyless
• holy/ sacred/ mystical – sacrilegious/ superstitious
• (nationally/ historically/ culturally/ socially/ economically/ internationally/…) important/ vital – unimportant/ trivial
• impressive/ stunning/ awe inspiring – unimpressive/ humdrum
• influential
• interesting/ fascinating/ intriguing/ entrancing – boring/ tedious/ dull/ uninteresting
• intimate – grand
• loved/ well loved/ adored/ cherished – despised/ hated
• lucky – unlucky
• magical
• meaningful – meaningless
• memorable/ unforgettable – (instantly) forgettable
• misunderstood
• mysterious/ mystifying
• nice/ pleasant/ charming/ lovely/ delightful – unpleasant/ nasty
• noisy/ loud – quiet/ subdued
• odd/ strange/ weird/ unusual – normal/ typical/ usual
• okay/ acceptable – unacceptable/ disgraceful
• old/ ancient – new/ brand new
• optional – obligatory
• original/ special/ distinctive/ unique/ special/ exceptional – unoriginal/ clichéd/ stereotypical
• overhyped/ overrated – underrated/ under the radar
• overwhelming
• patriotic/ nationalistic – cosmopolitan
• photogenic/ Instagrammable – unphotogenic
• political – unpolitical
• politically correct/ woke – politically incorrect
• popular – unpopular
• praiseworthy
• predictable – unpredictable
• relaxing – stressful
• respected – disrespected
• rewarding
• secret/ secretive – open
• sexy/ sexualised
• smelly – fragrant/ aromatic
• stupid/ idiotic/ foolish/ silly/ ridiculous – intellectual
• surprising/ shocking/ amazing/ astonishing – unsurprising
• symbolic – literal
• too long/ too often/ too…/ over-… – not… enough/ insufficiently…/ under-
• trendy – old-fashioned/ out of date
• unethical/ immoral
• unhealthy – healthy
• welcoming (to strangers/ to…) – unwelcoming
• wild/ crazy/ chaotic/ disorganised – organised
• worthwhile/ worth …ing – pointless/ worthless

 

Adjective opposites and synonyms

Without looking above, write one word (or sometimes part of one word) in each gap below, using the synonyms and/ or opposites to help. Other words not above and the same word in different gaps may be possible.

• much better than… – _______________________________________ worse than…
• amateurish – ________________________________________________________
• Americanised
• an ________________________________________________ taste – an instant hit
• annoying/ __________________________________________________/ infuriating
• atmospheric
• austere/ minimalist/ minimalistic – _________________________ the top/ excessive
• __________________/ genuine/ real – inauthentic/ _______/ ruined/ spoiled (by…)
• beautiful/ __________________/ stunning/ pretty – ___________________/ hideous
• booming – ___________________________________________________/ doomed
• changed (out of all recognition) – _________________________________________
• cheesy/ tacky/ _____________________________________________ and cheerful
• colourful
• comforting – edgy
• commercialised
• conservative – avantgarde
• controversial – _____________________________________________/ universally…
• cruel/ un_____________________________________________________________
• cult/ cult___________________________________________________ – universal
• ____________________________________________________________/ quaint
• _____________________________________________________________/ risky
• difficult/ ___________________________________________________________
• _________________________________________________________/ unsanitary
• ___________________________________________/ underwhelming – satisfying
• ____________________/ revolting/ _____________________/ sickening/ repulsive
• educational
• emotional/ ________________/ poignant/ _____________/ sad – emotionless/ cold
• ________________________________________ic/ manic – calm/ calming/ low key
• energising – _____________________________________________/ exhausting
• environmentally friendly/ ________________________ – environmentally unfriendly
• exciting/ __________________________________________________ – unexciting
• exclusive – __________________________________________________________
• exotic
• _________________/ pricey/ exorbitant/ over__________ – cheap/ _____________
• (justly/ unjustly) famous/ infamous/ _____________/ iconic/ representative – obscure
• _________________/ ________________/ superb/ ________________/ amazing/ unbelievable – terrible/ _______________________
• ______________________________________________________/ scary/ terrifying
• ________________________/ enjoyable – _____________________/ dull/ tedious
• funny/ _____________________/ hilarious – _________________/ unamusing
• happy/ ___________________/ joyful – sad/ depressing/ joy__________________
• ________________/ sacred/ mystical – sacrilegious/ superstitious
• (nationally/ historically/ culturally/ socially/ economically/ internationally/…) important/ ______________________ – unimportant/ ___________________
• ____________________/ stunning/ __________ inspiring – unimpressive/ humdrum
• influential
• interesting/ _________/ intriguing/ entrancing – boring/ tedious/ dull/ uninteresting
• intimate – grand
• loved/ well loved/ ________________/ cherished – despised/ __________________
• lucky – _____________________________________________________________
• magical
• meaningful – ________________________________________________________
• ____________________________/ unforgettable – (_______________ly) forgettable
• misunderstood
• mysterious/ mystifying
• nice/ pleasant/ charming/ ______________/ _____________ful – unpleasant/ nasty
• noisy/ ____________________________ – ________________________/ subdued
• odd/ strange/ _______________________________/ unusual – normal/ typical/ usual
• okay/ acceptable – ___________________________________________/ disgraceful
• old/ _________________________________________________ – new/ brand new
• __________________________________________________________ – obligatory
• original/ special/ distinctive/ _________________________/ special/ exceptional – unoriginal/ ______________________________________________/ stereotypical
• overhyped/ overrated – __________________________________/ under the radar
• overwhelming
• ___________________________________________/ nationalistic – cosmopolitan
• photogenic/ Instagrammable – _________________________________________
• political – unpolitical
• politically correct/ woke – politically ______________________________________
• popular – unpopular
• praiseworthy
• predictable – ________________________________________________________
• relaxing – ___________________________________________________________
• respected – __________________________________________________________
• rewarding
• secret/ _____________________________________________________ – open
• sexy/ sexualised
• smelly – fragrant/ __________________________________________________
• stupid/ ___________________/ foolish/ silly/ ________________ – intellectual
• surprising/ shocking/ amazing/ astonishing – unsurprising
• symbolic – literal
• too long/ too often/ too…/ ____________-… – not… enough/ in__________ly…/ under-
• trendy – old-______________________/ ______________________ of date
• unethical/ im____________________________________________________
• unhealthy – healthy
• welcoming (to strangers/ to…) – __________________________________________
• wild/ ________________/ chaotic/ ______________________________ – organised
• worthwhile/ worth…ing – _______________less/ _________________________less

Check above. Other answers are possible, so please check if you wrote anything different.