In the sentence "the trees uneasily frowned on....", I was wondering if saying "the trees hauntingly frowned on....." is synonymous. From the look of the definitions of the words "uneasily" and "hauntingly" they seem to be synonymous in this context, however I'm notentirely sure whether that is true.
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1Please quote the definitions as given in the dictionary and provide a link. Unless you show us the definitions you are using we can't comment on them.– chasly - supports MonicaCommented Oct 15, 2015 at 18:56
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3 Answers
These two constructions do not communicate the same thing to me, although it is hard to pinpoint why. Here is why they seem different:
In "the trees uneasily frowned on...", you seem to be characterizing the trees' frowning as inducing anxiety in them (the trees).
In "the trees hauntingly frowned on...," you seem to characterizing the trees' frowning as inducing anxiety in some other party (e.g. the narrator or protagonist).
This is probably because of the difference between uneasy (an adjective, not derived from a verb and thus never associated with a direct object) and haunting (which derives from the verb to haunt which does take a direct object).
answered Oct 15, 2015 at 18:55
I agree, uneasily is the way the trees frown and hauntingly is how another party would perceive their frowning.
"the trees nervously frowned" would be more like "uneasily" and "the trees frighteningly frowned" would be more like "hauntingly".
No, they are not synonymous. "Uneasy" is a quality of comfort (lack of). "Haughty" is a quality of attitude, a kind of unfriendliness, a purposeful way of projecting disapproval (believed superiority).
But besides that, the quote is very difficult to decipher (or paraphrase) because it's a strange anthropomorphizing of trees.
