Calling somebody kind is never wrong. It’s often vague, though. Think about a neighbour bringing you soup when you’re sick, a boss telling you when you’ve made a mistake in a way that doesn’t make you feel stupid, and a stranger giving up their seat on the bus. Each is kind, but in very different…
Most writers use overused terms and words. One such word is nuances. Its presence in the text does not always bring added value or depth. It may sound correct and educated, so people often use it in essays, reports, reviews, and even the workplace. The best thing about this guide is that it offers a…
” Better” is one of those words you learn early on, but rarely use later in life. It’s versatile, fitting in many places: a better phone plan, a better grade, a better mood, being better at something. Which is also part of the issue. The word is so widely applicable that it can often confuse…
Few words get used as much, and abused as much, as ‘new’. New phone, new idea, new city, new job, new year- all use the same word, but all are new in a slightly different way. The phone is new, unused. The idea is novel. The city is unfamiliar. The job is a fresh start….
“Support” is one of the most versatile words in the English language, which is part of why it’s one of the most abused. A manager supports a team. A beam supports a roof. A study supports a theory. A friend supports you through a difficult month. The same word applies to all of these examples…
“Unique” is a word that has been used to death. Every single product page employs the adjective. Every resume has unique skills. Every travel article promises unique experiences on every page, and when you use the same word everywhere, it loses its impact. The solution isn’t to find a random substitute. “Unique” has multiple meanings,…
Read back through something you’ve written recently and count how many times you used the word ‘small’, and where you used it. A small room, a small budget, a small mistake, a small town. The word is doing several different jobs, but none of them very well. The good news is that English has a…
Try changing the word “like” into one of its synonyms at a time, and you will soon reach a dead end. “I like pizza,” “It looks like rain,” and “She was, like, totally shocked” all use the same word, but it serves three different jobs. A word that will work in the first will seem…
Most of us reach for “very” out of habit. It’s short, it’s familiar, and it slots into almost any sentence without friction. But that convenience comes at a cost: “very” is a vague intensifier that tells the reader you wanted to say more without actually saying more. “Very tired” and “very smart” are fine in…
You are writing an email, a caption, a story, or a message to a friend, and you type excited for the third time. The word is fine; it just doesn’t say much anymore. Excited is an adjective that’s used for a variety of emotions; maybe for a child before a birthday party, a runner at…