One of the reasons I like to push people to read more is because it helps improve our vocabulary without us even realizing it. And though I aim to get more people reading, that also means we need more people writing. For our first enhancement post we would like to focus on improving vocabulary by starting with a word that is used by habit, very.
There’s nothing wrong with the word very, but sometimes people will overuse it to enhance an adjective, when instead they could use a more relevant word. Here’s an example of what I mean.
An example of using the word very.
Peter is very angry.
In the above example the speaker would be trying to put emphasis on how angry Peter is. But instead, why not use a stronger adjective that highlights the potency of Peter’s anger? See the example below.
Instead of using the word very
Peter is furious.
The above example articulates the extent of Peter’s anger and it’s better because a more precise word is being used. Good writing is all about being able to use the correct words and not necessarily more words. Practicing this will allow you to eliminate redundant words like very from both your writing and speaking.
To assist you further, here’s an awesome table from Writers Write that shows 45 ways you can eliminate the word very. It has all the adjectives that you could use as a replacement for those words that may tempt you to use very for emphasis.
Remember, it’s not wrong to use the word very. And I’m not saying you should remove it from your vocabulary altogether. But if you practice using more relevant adjectives you’ll quickly become a better writer and speaker, which will help you in the long run. Give it a try and let us know your thoughts below.
Featured image: Gotha, Germany
