Using the word very in writing

Many people overuse «very» in their writing. This is a mistake. «Very» is an intensifier without an inherent meaning. Many inexperienced writers use intensifiers like «very» or «really» to try to add power to their writing. This is a mistake.

Avoid using very in a sentence because it’s a weak word that diminishes your meaning. There’s not enough information in a word like «very» to tell your reader anything new. You’re better off finding a stronger alternative.

Consider these sentences:

• The very large dog’s hackles rose.*
• The monstrous dog’s hackles rose.*

Intensifiers are often used when a stronger verb or adjectivewould do a better job of conveying meaning:

• He walked very quickly towards his mother.
• He dashed towards his mother.

“Dashed” is a stronger, more evocative verb. “Dashed” also says the same thing in one word that “walked very quickly” says in two.

The same goes for adjectives: a strong noun or single adjective is better than a string of adverb descriptors.

Here’s a great list to replace very + weak adjectives with strong adjectives that will pack a punch in your writing.

45 Ways to Avoid Using the Word Very

Don’t depend on intensifiers to give your weak words power. Choose strong, specific language to strengthen your writing.

Published December 18, 2019

Four little letters: v-e-r-y.

While very is indeed a very useful word, when overused, it can make writing sound very boring.

Plus, if we write this sentence another way, it can sound completely different: While very is indeed an invaluable word, when overused, it can make writing sound uninteresting and mundane.

See the difference?

When to use very

Very has its purpose as an adverb that modifies adjectives: it gives them intensity.

For writers who are just starting out, like young students or those just learning English, it’s a useful tool that eases them into modifiers. However, more advanced writers can do away with it and use more precise techniques.

How to practice using other words

Step 1: synonyms

A good place to start is to replace very with a different synonym. Modifiers are important!

If you’re tired of using very, there are plenty of synonyms to use instead that will be more descriptive. For example, take this sentence: It’s very important that you take your lunch to school.

At seven in the morning rushing out the door, any child will whip right past their lunchbox. However, just switching out very makes the sentence sound more immediate: It’s exceedingly important that you take your lunch to school.

Choosing the correct word for the job might require some thought. In the previous example, very sounds neutral while exceedingly sounds more hurried. The problem with the word very is that it can be used to describe a lot of things and can have a lot of different tones behind it: He was very smart. They were very mad. She fought very hard.

Words like extraordinarily, exceptionally, or remarkably make your adjective sound important and impressive. However, words like awfully, seriously, or terribly make the tone more somber. Saying, “This chocolate cake is uncommonly good” will communicate that the dessert is both very good and unusually good. Describing a doctor as “eminently qualified” underscores the point in a way that “very qualified” does not.

Here are a few more alternatives to consider: deeply, profoundly, notably, truly, and surpassingly.

Step 2: sentence structure

If you think you’re ready to ditch very all together, it’s time to talk about structuring your sentence so that you don’t need it to begin with.

Not using very is a matter of specificity. The art gallery was very full that night, is a sentence that has potential to be interesting but leaves the reader unsatisfied.

Introduce some imagery and you’ll instantly make the sentence more interesting, as in The art gallery was so crammed that night you couldn’t move without touching someone else!

What about this example? She was very tired last night. A more specific sentence can appeal to several senses. How did she look? What did she say? Where was she? After practice, she collapsed on the couch with a sigh and fell asleep instantly.

Step 3: vocabulary expansion

Another way to be more specific in your writing is to expand your vocabulary. Often, a very followed by an adjective can be replaced with a single word. The neighbor across the street isn’t “very pretty,” they’re lovely. When you asked for the manager at the restaurant, you weren’t “very angry” but instead irate. That candy isn’t “very sweet,” it’s toothsome.

If you’re not sure what word to use, it’s OK to look at a thesaurus (we’re here to help!) or peek at what words other writers you read use.

The final tip is to edit, edit, and edit again. Asking a friend to look over your work will give a fresh set of eyes, but you can always edit yourself. Pro tip: read your work out loud as that will really help you hear if you’re using a certain word very often.

Very is an overused word. Whenever you’re tempted to use it, try dropping it to see if any meaning is lost. There’s a good chance your sentence will actually benefit from its removal. There are exceptions, however, especially when very provides meaningful emphasis.

Examples

For example, consider whether these sentences really need the intensifier very:

Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but over the years the Georgia General Assembly has provided us a vast array of very entertaining and sometimes very bizarre legislative denizens. [Atlanta Journal Constitution]

After all, Coats was the pilot for the shuttle Discovery’s very first mission — the STS-41D flight that marked the beginning of the shuttle’s 27-year spaceflying career. [Fox News]

It goes without saying that almost all Western analysts and pundits know very little about Libyan rebels. [American Conservative]

Their campaign elsewhere in the Middle East, after an apparently promising start, had not been going very well. [Guardian]

In these cases, however, very serves a purpose in providing meaningful emphasis:

He’s the very English luvvie famed for his blue-blooded roles in TV shows such as Brideshead Revisited and Elizabeth I and theatre work in classic Shakespeare plays. [Daily Mail]

When they’re good, they’re very good. [White and Blue Review]

Very and past participles

An old, nearly forgotten grammar rule holds that very should not modify past-participial adjectives, as participles are derived from verbs, and very can’t modify actions. So phrases like very engrossed and very delighted are illogical because it would be impossible to say, for example, this book very engrosses readers, or you very delight me.

This might be good advice, but most 21st-century writers don’t bother with the old rule. For example, these writers use very to modify a participle:

Cobb won’t be very disappointed if he doesn’t win a state title. [NJ.com]

It’s making me feel very annoyed, threatened, unsafe and unsettled. [letter to Morning Sentinel]

There are a few easy solutions to the very-past-participle issue, if you care about pleasing old-fashioned grammarians. One is to remove very (see above). Another is to replace very with quite (which is almost as often overused as very), much, or very much—for example:

Cobb won’t be much disappointed if he doesn’t win a state title.

It’s making me feel quite annoyed, threatened, unsafe and unsettled.

But in both cases, simply dropping the intensifier might be even better.

VERY is a good English word that’s why we use it a lot.  But when you use the same word over and over again, it becomes boring and you sound monotonous. MONO means “one”, TONOUS means “tone”. So if it’s only one tone all throughout, people lose interest in listening to you.

Native speakers use a variety of terms to describe something or someone. So, today this is a vocabulary lesson where we will see that other than using VERY to describe the degree of something, we actually have several choices of words that will make us become a more effective speaker. Using these words in our writing will also make our work stand out and catch more attention.

Basic usages of VERY

So first, let’s understand what is VERY. It is an adverb of degree that tells us about the intensity of something. This is usually placed before the adjective, verb, or another adverb. Other examples of adverb of degree are enough, too, more and extremely.

You can see or hear these words frequently used this way:

I have enough water.

There’s not enough light in here.

My father works too hard.

Ben’s wife is too young.

The tests are getting extremely difficult.

This bag is extremely heavy!

The other garden is more beautiful than this one.

People in rural areas are more welcoming than people in big cities.

The horse is running very fast.

The old man walked very slowly.

Avoid using VERY too many times

As you can see, the underlined words modify or show us the intensity of the words (adjectives and adverbs) that come after them. So, VERY is one of the most common ones that we hear every day. For example in this very short composition, it is being used a lot.

“Hi! I’m Laura. My family is not very rich, but we are not very poor either. We don’t live in a very big house. But my parents, my brother and I enjoy a very peaceful and happy life. My parents work diligently and honestly. They face very hard problems every now and then, but I do my best in school to make them feel proud. My brother and I are careful about keeping our rooms and clothes very clean so that our parents don’t get a headache from the mess. They are very kind parents and that is why we always do our best to help them in our own small ways.”

Let’s try this again by using new vocabulary other than VERY + Adjective.

“Hi! I’m Laura. My family is not wealthy, but we are not destitute either. We don’t live in a humongous house. But my parents, my brother and I enjoy a tranquil and happy life. My parents work diligently and honestly. They face difficult problems every now and then, but I do my best in school to make them feel proud. My brother and I are careful about keeping our rooms and clothes spotless so that our parents don’t get a headache from the mess. They are good-hearted parents and that is why we always do our best to help them in our own small ways.”

You don’t want to say VERY too many times or else you’d sound monotonous, just like in the first composition above. Comparing the two, the second one is more interesting to read. And this would also show your level of fluency because the more vocabulary you use to express your thoughts, the more fluent you are in a language. 

Alternative ways to say VERY

Let’s look at these common collocations for the word VERY.

*Very hot = scalding or scorching. These two are similar and talk about something that’s hot, but they are not the same. Scalding is for liquid, while scorching is for temperature like the heat during summer.

I love summertime but sometimes I don’t want to get out in the scorching sun.

You may want to bring a bottle of cold water. It’s scorching outside.

You don’t want to dip your hand in the pot, it’s scalding. You’d burn yourself.

The tea is scalding! I burned my tongue.

*Very cold = freezing

It’s freezing outside! You better wear thick socks.

*Very boring = dull

The theatrical play we watched last night was dull.

*Very good = superb. The phrase “very good” is actually quite overused. Here are examples:

The movie was very good.

It was a very good dinner.

Our trip to Turkey this year was very good.

The service in that restaurant is very good.

The wine they serve is very good.

And on and on we go. But to show class and some variety, we can use SUPERB or even EXCELLENT! See how these sentences look better?

The food is superb!

The wine they serve is excellent.

Your sister looks superb.

*Very hungry = famished or ravenous

We hiked all day. I’m famished!

I’m ravenous about reading.

*Very slow = sluggish

I am sluggish when I wake up in the morning. I need coffee to make me fully awake.

The project took longer to finish because the workers are sluggish.

*Very fast = rapid or rapidly (adverb)

Busy people walk at a rapid pace.

People from New York speak rapidly compared to people from Texas.

*Very tired = exhausted

I’m exhausted! I’m just about ready to crash.

*Very poor = destitute. Destitute means poor as poor can get. When someone destitute, he is so poor he has barely anything to eat or wear.

I’m looking for a job. I’m destitute.

Churches and charities organize programs to offer help to the destitute.

*Very rich = wealthy. Rich is fine but wealthy is even better. Wealthy is several notches higher than being rich. Take a look at the difference here:

I want to learn English so I get a promotion at work. I want to earn more and be rich!

But wealthy is different.

I want to learn English and partner with many businessmen from different countries around the world. I want to become a wealthy man!

*Very rude. You can instead say “vulgar”. Vulgar means not right or inappropriate.

Kids today seem to be more aggressive and vulgar compared to kids in their grandparents’ time.

*Very short. Use “brief” instead.

The professor gave a brief lecture on the life cycle of elephants.

Here are other examples of collocations for VERY and the alternative words you can use:

1. Very big = humongous

2. Very important = crucial / essential

3. Very busy= swamped

4. Very smart = intelligent

5. Very peaceful = tranquil

6. Very colorful = vibrant

7. Very skillful = seasoned / veteran

8. Very hard = challenging / difficult

9. Very kind = tender-hearted / good-hearted

10. Very sad = depressed / sorrowful

11. Very bad = awful

12. Very worried = anxious

13. Very confused = perplexed

14. Very dirty = squalid

15. Very clean = spotless

If you can throw in these words to your speech, you’d sound quite eloquent and interesting to hear. People will like listening to you more. Your work in writing will be guaranteed top notch as well! It’s always rewarding to expand your English vocabulary.

Related Articles:

• When to use “S” at the End of a Word?
• What’s the Difference between Active and Passive Voice in English Writing?
• How to Use Quotation Marks Properly
• The Proper Use of “Unless” in Everyday English
• What’s the Difference between ‘Whether’ and ‘If’?

• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• High Intermediate
• Intermediate
• Vocabulary