I think there's a lot you can criticize about this site. The suggestions are often questionable, and there's quite a few very common adjectives for which there are no suggestions at all ("delicious" for example yields "not yet added"). That said, the value of this site imho is it's simplicity, and that it focuses you to think about your use of the word "very", and how you can express ideas better.
Replace the “very” in your sentence
181–190 of 295 posts
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#182You can also just drop the “very”. There’s no need for a fancy word to replace the thing you’re very very about. For example, if you’re writing “very tall”, change it into “tall” and re-read the sentence. It’ll be better. I learned this by reading Scott Adams’ excellent 3-minute essay on writing: https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/06/the...
Very tall people are taller than tall people.
(Of course) you can (always) (just) remove words from a sentence. The (very) idea that doing so will (always) result in a "better" sentence is nonsensical.
The Empire State Building is a very tall building, but it is not the tallest. King Kong is a tall gorilla, and he is the tallest. Many examples are contrived. This example is contrived. I'm sorry, but I'm not very sorry.
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#183You can also just drop the “very”. There’s no need for a fancy word to replace the thing you’re very very about. For example, if you’re writing “very tall”, change it into “tall” and re-read the sentence. It’ll be better. I learned this by reading Scott Adams’ excellent 3-minute essay on writing: https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/06/the...
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I don't appreciate this personal attack. You know nothing about me, you know nothing about who and what I endorse. You simply conclude that because I refer to work by a person you dislike, I am also a person you dislike, and therefore I'm worthy of being yelled at. The world isn't this black and white.
My linking to an article from 2007 does not mean I stand behind everything its author ever said. It's a good article. It does not suddenly become a bad article just because the author has gone batshit crazy a decade later.
Please try to assume good faith.
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#184If you're an ESL speaker or something thinking this will be useful, I'd suggest caution (heh, changed that from 'very wary'). Many of the proposed alternatives I saw clicking through 'random' have a subtlety or specificity that the original 'very adj' doesn't - so it sounds like you mean something you might not (probably don't) if you say 'colossal' instead of 'tall' or 'emaciated' instead of 'skinny' for example. An…
I just tried "very clever" and got "nimble".
Normally nimble refers to a physical action. It can refer to intelligence but you would typically say "nimble minded" or similar.
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#185I tried 5 words and all of them were not supported. I assume it provides support for simple words like hot or shy, but then it targets only beginners?
I'm not very impressed.
Sorry, I mean I'm underwhelmed.
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#186You have to use a lot of judgment to pare these down, or you'll do more harm than good. "My car is very fast" -> "My car is breakneck" "It's going to be very cold tomorrow" -> "It's going to be Siberian tomorrow" "Those shoes are very expensive" -> "Those shoes are lavish"
"You mean we're all being sent to a gulag tomorrow? We'll be traversing a vast nothingness for months on end starting tomorrow? We'll be witnessing horrific environmental catastrophes that nobody knows about because they're too far from civilisation tomorrow?"
"No. Sheesh, I just meant it's going to be very cold tomorrow!"
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#187As a native speaker, my reply is: no[1]
Firstly this appears to be a way to boast about the size of your vocabulary. That's great, but, frankly you are walking into a bigarsed zone of unintended connotations. Its more than likely to do the exact opposite.
Second, half of the suggestions are wrong. for example "very ashamed" is not the same as repentant. shame and regret are two similar things, but not the same. same with "very healthy" being a synonym for exuberant. Exuberant is full of energy, not feeling healthy. again linked but not the same.
All of you who want to sound either more "well read", or more native, this website will lead you astray.
All of you who are non-native, this website will confuse you and make you question your understanding. listen to bbc radio4/read the financial times, it will be better for you and there is wide range of styles to choose from (in the case of the BBC its free too)
using 'very' is perfectly fine, just try to limit it's use to once a sentence at the very minimum(no you can't swap very minimum for "the least" maybe "at the very least"). "Very" adds emphasis in a clear and understandable way. in other words, it can make thing very readable, without very much effort. (yes I am taking the piss.)
[1] apart from a few circumstances
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#188Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If you're an ESL speaker or something thinking this will be useful, I'd suggest caution (heh, changed that from 'very wary'). I will suggest one more thing. Define an acronym, abbreviation once before usage.
I think it's widely known by English as a Second Language speakers, and it was only an example anyway, but sure, fair enough, thanks.
I thought it was video game tournament production company
first link I get
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#189I've seen such advice in many writing forums (other examples include don't use adverbs, don't use passive voice, etc.), and while it certainly pays to heed your choice of vocabulary, I'm not convinced that simply avoiding a fixed set of words or forms is good advice. Let alone replacing them with a fixed set of substitutes. Open a few good books and essays, and see if there are adverbs, "very", passive voices, or oth…
I feel like a lot of people here are taking the point of this site much too literally. It's not saying "never ever ever ever use 'very'" or "if you want to use 'very', these are always the words you should use, no matter the context". It's a gentle nudge to remind us that often "very" is something that we reach for because we are too lazy to come up with a more expressive word. The words the site comes up with won't…
If your site about word choice can't handle being interpreted based on the words it chooses, it is a bad site.
Re: Replace the “very” in your sentence
#190this is very interesting