Steve Sawyer 9:00 pm on January 8, 2017  

Be very careful not to use “very” when you write

“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.”   Tom Schulman

Our English teachers told us to avoid the word “very” because it’s weak
and vague. They were right, and many times, we use “very” as a modifier
for a word that could easily be replaced with a stronger, more accurate
word.  Kristin Wong.

One of the very worst words we can use when we’re writing (fiction or non-fiction) is “very”.  It’s impossible to justify using it as an adjective. “Very” adds nothing to your sentence. As Schulman and Wong both agree, it is weak and lazy. So, if you insist on using “very”, would that mean you are a weak and lazy writer? Just askin’.

I counted 1.65 bazillion English words you can use instead of “very” to make your writing on target. And that was just on one website!

So, if you’re going to write on target, don’t use “very”

Here’s a bunch of cool words you can use instead.

Don’t write very old Write ancient
Don’t write very strange Write bizarre
Don’t write very worried Write anxious
Don’t write very happy Write jubilant
Don’t write very afraid Write horrified
Don’t write very weak Write feeble
Don’t write very ugly Write hideous
Don’t write very serious Write solemn
Don’t write very dry Write parched
Don’t write very clean Write spotless
Don’t write very valuable Write precious
Don’t write very cold Write frigid
Don’t write very angry Write furious
Don’t write very neat Write Immaculate
Don’t write very eager Write keen
Don’t write very hungry Write famished
Don’t write very bad Write awful
Don’t write very beautiful Write exquisite
Don’t write very bright Write dazzling

As I said, I found more than a bazillion English words to use better than “very” (A bazillion, by the way, is 100 gazillion). Any way, I hope we can all find much stronger more descriptive and colorful adjectives so we never ever have to use “very” again. That would be very nice.