Personal Boundaries Vocabulary

noun a tool used for levering or forcing something open

verb to inquire too closely into a person's private affairs

• The detective tried to pry information from the suspect during the interrogation.
• I tried to pry the truth out of my friend, but she wouldn't budge.
• I saw my nosy neighbor trying to pry into our business again.
• It's hard to pry open a closed mind and change someone's beliefs.

noun a feeling of pride and confidence in oneself; a sense of one's own dignity and worth

• Maintaining self-respect is essential in any professional setting.
• Hey, don't let anyone bring down your self-respect like that.
• You gotta have some self-respect and stand up for yourself.
• Her self-respect was like a suit of armor, protecting her from negativity.

adjective tending to touch or handle others in a familiar or inappropriate way

• The employee was reprimanded for being too handsy with their colleagues.
• I don't like it when people get handsy with me at parties.
• He's always so handsy when he's had a few drinks.
• The company's new marketing campaign was criticized for being too handsy with its messaging.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being

adjective a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun

pronoun a word that takes the place of a noun

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence

article a word that is used to specify or limit a noun

• One's personal finances should be none of someone's business.
• Hey, my dating life is none of your business!
• Mind your own beeswax, my plans for the weekend are none of your business.
• Her decision to quit her job is her own, it should be none of our business.