---
title: chameleon — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «chameleon» in the school dictionary: A chameleon is a kind of lizard that can change the colour of its skin, has eyes that move separately, and catches insects with a very long, sticky tongue. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# chameleon

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** chameleon, lizard, eyes, person, their, tongue · **What happens:** be, change, have, move, catch, fit in · **To what, where:** kind, colour, eyes, insects, opinions, whoever · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«chameleon» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [chameleon in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/chameleon.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A chameleon is a kind of lizard that can change the colour of its skin, has eyes that move separately, and catches insects with a very long, sticky tongue.

<!-- fold The tree, 29 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chameleon:m1:1
# text = A chameleon is a kind of lizard that can change the colour of its skin, has eyes that move separately, and catches insects with a very long, sticky tongue.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chameleon	chameleon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	lizard	lizard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
9	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	acl:relcl	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	skin	skin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
18	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	obj	_	_
19	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	20	nsubj	_	_
20	move	move	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	acl:relcl	_	_
21	separately	separately	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
23	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
24	catches	catch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	conj	_	_
25	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	obj	_	_
26	with	with	ADP	IN	_	32	case	_	_
27	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	32	det	_	_
28	very	very	ADV	RB	_	29	advmod	_	_
29	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	32	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	29	punct	_	_
31	sticky	sticky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	32	amod	_	_
32	tongue	tongue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a chameleon | a kind |  |  |  | of lizard | tree rules |
| 2 | **change** | can | lizard | the colour of chameleon's skin |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent colour=Patient |
| 3 | **have** | present |  | eyes |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent eye=Patient |
| 4 | **move** | present | eyes |  |  |  |  | separately *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **catch** | present |  | insects |  |  |  | with a long sticky tongue | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent insect=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: figurative — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A person who changes their opinions or behaviour to fit in with whoever they are with is called a chameleon.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chameleon:m2:1
# text = A person who changes their opinions or behaviour to fit in with whoever they are with is called a chameleon.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	changes	change	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	opinions	opinion	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	behaviour	behaviour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	fit	fit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	RP	_	10	compound:prt	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	whoever	whoever	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	obj	_	_
14	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
15	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
16	with	with	ADP	IN	_	15	obl	_	_
17	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	aux:pass	_	_
18	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	chameleon	chameleon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	18	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | present | a person | their opinions or behaviour |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent opinion=Patient |
| 2 | **fit in** | to-infinitive | a person *not said here* | whoever |  |  |  |  | vn adjust-26.9 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent whoever=Patient |
| 3 | **call** | present · passive |  | a person |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |
| 4 | **opine** |  | their *= they* |  |  |  |  |  | nom opinion «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chameleon's tongue shot out and caught a cricket.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chameleon:x1:1
# text = The chameleon's tongue shot out and caught a cricket.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chameleon	chameleon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	tongue	tongue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	shot	shoot	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	out	out	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	caught	catch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	cricket	cricket	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shoot out** | past | the chameleon's tongue |  |  |  |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **catch** | past | the chameleon's tongue *not said here* | a cricket |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cricket=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A chameleon can look forward and backward at the same time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chameleon:x2:1
# text = A chameleon can look forward and backward at the same time.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chameleon	chameleon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	look	look	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	forward	forward	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	backward	backward	ADV	RB	_	5	conj	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | can | a chameleon |  |  |  | time | forward *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chameleon turned bright when it was angry.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chameleon:x3:1
# text = The chameleon turned bright when it was angry.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chameleon	chameleon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	turned	turn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	bright	bright	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
5	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	8	mark	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	angry	angry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | past | the chameleon |  |  |  |  | bright *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | past | chameleon |  |  |  |  | angry *property* | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Chameleons grip branches with their feet and curly tail.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chameleon:x4:1
# text = Chameleons grip branches with their feet and curly tail.
1	Chameleons	chameleon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	grip	grip	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	branches	branch	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	curly	curly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grip** | present | Chameleons | branches |  |  |  | with Chameleons's feet and curly tail | vn touch-20-1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent branch=Experiencer with foot=Instrument |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many chameleons live in Madagascar.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chameleon:x5:1
# text = Many chameleons live in Madagascar.
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	chameleons	chameleon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Madagascar	Madagascar	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | present | Many chameleons |  |  | Madagascar |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in madagascar=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He's a real chameleon — he agrees with whoever he's talking to.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chameleon:x6:1
# text = He's a real chameleon — he agrees with whoever he's talking to.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	chameleon	chameleon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	agrees	agree	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	whoever	whoever	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	8	obl	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	talking	talk	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	acl:relcl	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | He | a real chameleon |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **agree** *speech: agree* | present | he | a real chameleon *not said here* |  |  |  | with whoever | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent chameleon=Topic |
| 3 | **talk** | present · progressive | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chameleon moved slowly along the branch.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chameleon:x7:1
# text = The chameleon moved slowly along the branch.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chameleon	chameleon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	moved	move	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	along	along	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	branch	branch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | past | the chameleon |  |  | the branch |  | slowly *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme along branch=Trajectory |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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