RegEx : Matching a list of predefined tokens

From: moshebox_at_[hidden]
Date: 2001-10-18 08:44:56

Hi

Is there a way to tell RegEx to match a regular expression and 
include a list insted of a fixed value , for example

"the little girl is showing off her new dress"

what if I wanted to process this sentence and tell RegEx to match 
the words "girl , women , child , boy , dog , cat" or even a list of 
200 different words ?

I think it can be done by using the | operator , but this method is 
very messy and each regular expression will have to be miles long!

any ideas ?