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Replace the “very” in your sentence

losethevery.com

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Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence

#81

Post by djur »

gpm wrote: post #46
lintroller wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Accuracy and precision is vital in communication. I agree that the speaker does have a responsibility to know his audience and shouldn't use fancy words to project intellect, education, or status. However, if there is an opportunity to be more exact, one should take it without remorse.

Accuracy and precision is sometimes vital, but modifying words with very is frequently a good way of achieving that. "I want a fast game", "I want a very fast game". This site suggests "rapid", "breakneck", and "dashing" as alternatives for "very fast". "Very fast" is pretty clear very precise compared to those words. Maybe I could speak about "a breakneck pace" instead, but would I have really gained anything other…

What does "very fast" actually convey that "fast" doesn't, unless you have a specific example of "fast" to compare with?

The idea isn't that "rapid" means "very fast" (I don't think it even necessarily means faster than "fast"). It's that people will use "very fast" when they feel that "fast" lacks the punch the sentence needs, even when they don't actually mean anything different from "fast".

Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence

#83

Post by necovek »

chitowneats wrote: post #45
Crazyontap wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In other words, don't use this site blindly. Very true! For example: Very + Old = Ancient My granda is very old vs My grandma is ancient.

"Very old" is still rude. Seems roughly equivalent to me.

I am not yet "very old" (still not 40 :), but I've been called that by much younger folk, and I even joke about being "very old" in different social settings.

It's obviously a relative term, so I would hope this isn't considered "rude" more generally.

Even objectively, if life expectancy is 75 in a region, saying that someone 70+ is "old", or someone 85+ is "very old" sounds "correct" rather than rude. Is "very young" rude as well?

Is it rude to say that someone is very short or very tall? I mean, that 6ft basketball player is very short.

Yes, some will take offence at any objective statement of fact, and some of these are cultural (tall is good, short is not; young is good, short is not), but if your point is not to denigrate, then you are not rude imho.

Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence

#84

Post by djur »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #50

"very rude" is turned into "ill-mannered". I would say the second one is softer (very soft actually) than "rude". For many of them, looking into multiple dictionaries it appears that they are synonymous of the word, rather than a stronger meaning.

The underlying writing issue here is that people will use "very" because the sentence feels too bare and simple without it, so they add "very" (or "really", "extremely", "truly", etc.) as a way to add interest and emphasis. A good example of this is that they have "incomparable" for "very unique". "Unique" and "incomparable" are synonymous, and "very" isn't necessary here at all, but the latter word may have more punch.

Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence

#85

Post by whatisthiseven »

The website's design is great and simple with no explanation needed of how to use it. Would be snappier if it matched on words automatically so I wouldn't need to press enter.

I noticed with my own writing the use of lazy structures, such as too many adverbs, very, "statement, but concession" sentences, or parenthesis for tangents.

It isn't that these things are always bad. It was only when reading my older works I realized how much I was over-using these that it made my writing as a whole worse. My way of thinking about things, imagery for scenes, everything was getting impacted by the constant use of those sentence structures. Your thoughts can't help but be impacted if you're upping the "impact" of each emotion, phrase, description to be "very" or "lovely purple".

Its OK for descriptions to stand on their own, and the same is true for simple words. A blue coat, the sad man, the lone frog in a pond in the rain.

Write different; you'll be surprised how much you think different, too.

Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence

#86

Post by kyralis »

The first random one I got was simply incorrect:

very + old = dilapidated

And several others weren't much better:

very + helpful = essential

There are definitely words for which "very" is unnecessary and an alternate would be better, but in other cases the intensifier is actually the right choice.

And if you do want to reduce your usage of "very", at least check a dictionary before you trust the site's output.

Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence

#87

Post by drusepth »

Crazyontap wrote: post #36
Blammar wrote: post #12

"very hard" -> formidable ? I don't agree because there are multiple interpretations. I would have liked multiple results, e.g., formidable, diamond-like, arduous, etc. In other words, don't use this site blindly.

> In other words, don't use this site blindly. Very true! For example: Very + Old = Ancient My granda is very old vs My grandma is ancient.

>Very true!

Not yet added! :(

Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence

#88

Post by sudobash1 »

WaitWaitWha wrote: post #47

I ran a few words through and I am not willing to buy into the elimination of very. As noted (very or not) unique and incomparable are not the same. These words have nuanced differences. Every word I checked failed to provide the a proper equivalent. Context matters. very hard is not always demanding very clean =/= sparkling very old =/= ancient very dark =/= bleak

I think that is actually the motivation to avoid very. It's completely true, and important to note that "very clean" =/= "sparkling". "Very" simply intensifies the word "clean". "Sparkling" doesn't simply mean intensely clean. Instead it means (in context) that it is so clean that light reflects off the surface. It has a richer meaning.

On the other hand the way the tool presents is not the most helpful. A list would be much better. Perhaps I am trying to say that I have cleaned my carpet well. I would perhaps want "spotless" or "immaculate" rather than "very clean". But I certainly wouldn't want "sparkling." That suggestion is worthless for me, and I wouldn't want to have to keep clicking to find a relevant one. (Also, what if I meant "clean" as in "clean language". I don't think any of these suggestions would be relevant).

So not my favorite tool (a thesaurus is much better), but a novel way of presenting the idea.

Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence

#89

Post by djoldman »

wizofaus wrote: post #61
alibrarydweller wrote: post #14

"So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays." -- The Dead Poets Society

Great movie but not the best advice - "morose" doesn't even mean "very sad", it means ill-tempered/in a bad mood. I wouldn't even say there is one good word that means "very sad", but "morose" is definitely not it. The site in question came up with "inconsolable", but that's hardly appropriate if you're talking about "very sad news" (after a few attempts it come back with "somber" which at least sort of works in that…

Devastated.
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