[Vocabulary] creep vs sneak

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dilodi83

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Can I consider "to creep" and "to sneak" as synonyms when I use as verbs od movement?

1) She creeps into the room. /She sneaked into the room.
2) She crept up on me. / She sneaked up on me.
3) A: They tried to steal away while their parents where asleep?
B: Did they? How did they do?
A: They just crept out. / They just sneaked out
4) When the revolt broke out, they just crept off / sneaked off.

How to use them correctly if they are not synonyms?

Thank you very much.
 

Rover_KE

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'Creep' and 'steal' just mean to move quietly.

'Sneak' also means to move quietly but with some degree of subterfuge, craftiness or malice.
 

BobK

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:up:
Can I consider "to creep" and "to sneak" as synonyms when I use as verbs od movement?

1) She creeps into the room. /She sneaked into the room.
2) She crept up on me. / She sneaked up on me.
3) A: They tried to steal away while their parents where asleep?
B: Did they? How did they do it?
A: They just crept out. / They just sneaked out
4) When the revolt broke out, they just crept off / sneaked off.

How to use them correctly if they are not synonyms?

Thank you very much.

I've marked a couple of slips. 'How' and 'do' can collocate, with the 'do' being either transitive or intransitive, but 'How did they do?' is the sort of question you'd ask if you'd just missed a relay race and wanted to know how the team had done. ;-) If there's an object, you need to express it. (With other verbs it's different: you could ask 'Did they win?' [object='the race'] Or 'Did they win it?' [object=the trophy given to winners of the race]).

b

PS for fans of the IPA:

where = /weə(r)/
were = strong: /wɜ:(r)/ weak: /wə(r)/
we're = /wiə(r)/ (for most speakers this is not distinct from 'weir' - /wɪə(r)/ - a long, shallow, man-made 'waterfall')
 
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