Emotional reaction "V at n" construction
Form
NP
Experiencer
Verb
at
NP
Stimulus
Examples
Experiencer
Meredith
Verb
bristled
at
at
Stimulus
[his rudeness.]
Experiencer
[Hamill's family]
Verb
exulted
at
at
Stimulus
[the news of his escape.]
Experiencer
He
Verb
laughed
at
at
Stimulus
[her confusion.]
Meaning
An Experiencer expresses a particular feeling in reaction to a Stimulus.
Roles
Experiencer
The person who experiences and expresses a feeling towards the Stimulus.
Stimulus
The thing, person, or situation that elicits the Experiencer's emotional reaction.
Frames
Inherits from
Sub-constructions
Lexical items ( Verb slot)
Willingness
recoil
Any self respecting managing director in industry would recoil at the last Feethams balance sheet.
Making_faces
bristle
Meredith bristled at his rudeness and whirled around, hot with temper.
frown
Ross frowned at the strong note of venom in her voice.
grimace
Christabel took a sip of her tea, grimacing at its scalding temperature.
smirk
She stood still, her eyes glittering, almost smirking at his threat.
wince
He winced at the insinuation that he was past it.
Make_noise
cackle
Some zealous war opponents, cackling at the failure to find WMD, say withdrawing from Iraq is the only recourse.
chuckle
He chuckled at his grim little joke.
guffaw
The signalman guffawed at his own punchline then disappeared from view, closing the window after him.
laugh
He laughed at her confusion.
snicker
Besides, this is the perfect place to hit a few balls around without worrying about people snickering at your lack of skill.
snigger
We should n't snigger at Morris's latest creation.
Experiencer_focused_emotion
(not) sniff
The price, however, is not to be sniffed at: £17.50!
cringe
She cringed at the sound of her own voice and took a breath.
despair
Only experience saved him from despairing at this rag-bag of memories.
exult
Hamill's family exulted at the news of his escape.
grieve
Let's be honest, few of the nobles are going to grieve at the news of the King's death.
marvel
People marvelled at the way Lilly Foley ran such an elegant home when she had five rugby-playing lads to deal with.
quail
Many people would quail at the idea of having to construct an open-plan building 70ft long and 24ft wide out of freshly cut oak, using nothing but their hands and traditional tools.
rage
The Dallas Cowboys were left raging at a refereeing decision which could eventually cost them a place in the Super Bowl.
rejoice
Last night the motor industry was rejoicing at the unexpected cut.
smart
She had smarted at Jenny's accusation the night of the dinner party that she had encouraged Matthew.
thrill
The children will thrill at all their favourite characters.
wonder
Lindsey wondered at her ability to lie so easily.
Emotion_heat
chafe
Coleridge, still lame, chafed at his own confinement.
fume
Earlier this year senior ministers fumed at the lack of honest exchange between Westminster and Holyrood.
seethe
Richmann seethed at Henri's arrogance.
Desiring
drool
Jones has to be absolutely drooling at the prospect of facing a young Rutgers defense that surrendered 373 yards on the ground to Navy last weekend.
salivate
Genre fans are salivating at the possibility of all kinds of celebrity death matches.
Color_qualities
blanch
People who have children may blanch at the idea of those cream sofas.
Body_movement
bridle
She bridled at his tone, irritated hugely by his assumption that she'd simply drop everything to dance to his bidding.
shudder
He shuddered at his remembrance of royalty's puzzled look when he removed this ostentatious headgear.