I.
noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , deep , great , heavy , huge
▪ little , slight , small , soft
▪ loud , quiet
▪ audible , silent
▪
There was an audible ~ of relief when the news came through that nobody was hurt.
▪ inward
▪
Nancy heaved an inward ~ but did as her son suggested.
▪ exaggerated
▪ long
▪ exhausted , long-suffering , weary
▪ defeated , resigned
▪ wistful
▪
His departure prompted a few wistful ~s and the odd tear from admirers.
▪ annoyed , exasperated , frustrated , irritated ( esp. AmE )
▪ relieved
▪ contented , satisfied
▪ collective
▪
The crowd breathed a collective ~ of relief.
VERB + SIGH
▪ breathe , give , heave , let out , release
▪
I breathed a ~ of relief.
▪ hold back , repress , stifle , suppress
▪ hear
SIGH + VERB
▪ escape sb
▪
A weary ~ escaped him.
▪ come
▪
A heavy ~ came from her mother.
PREPOSITION
▪ on a ~
▪
She let out her breath on a ~.
▪ with a ~
▪
‘I suppose we'd better get back to work!’ he said with a heavy ~.
▪ ~ of
▪
She gave a deep ~ of contentment.
PHRASES
▪ a ~ of relief
II.
verb
ADVERB
▪ deeply , heavily
▪
She ~ed heavily and sat down.
▪ softly
▪ audibly , loudly
▪ inwardly
▪ a little
▪ contentedly , happily
▪
She looked at her son and ~ed happily.
▪ dreamily
▪
The girl watching him ~ed dreamily.
▪ dejectedly , sadly , wistfully
▪ resignedly
▪ wearily
▪
He ~ed wearily as he looked at the pile of work.
▪ angrily , exasperatedly , impatiently
PREPOSITION
▪ in
▪
He ~ed in exasperation.
▪ with
▪
We ~ed with relief when the noise stopped.