If you have seen the movie ‘Dead Poets Society’ then you must remember a scene in it where Robin Williams tells his classroom of students-
“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 endeavour, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.”
Celebrated American author Mark Twain famously said: “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”
We cannot agree more. Ever since we started learning English from school, our teachers have been telling us to minimize the use of the modifier ‘very’. It is imprecise, reflects laziness and an unwillingness to explore more aspects of the language. There is always a better word available in the vast repository of the English language that can replace ‘very’. Here we list 125 of them!
- Very afraid- fearful
- Very calm- serene
- Very angry- furious
- Very careful- cautious
- Very annoying- exasperating
- Very cheap- stingy
- Very bad- awful
- Very clean- spotless
- Very beautiful- gorgeous
- Very clear- obvious
- Very big- massive
- Very cold- freezing
- Very boring- dull
- Very colorful- vibrant
- Very bright- luminous
- Very competitive- cutthroat
- Very busy- swamped
- Very complete- comprehensive
- Very confused- perplexed
- Very difficult- arduous
- Very creative- innovative
- Very dirty- filthy
- Very crowded- bustling
- Very dry- arid
- Very dangerous- perilous
- Very dull- tedious
- Very dear- cherished
- Very easy- effortless
- Very deep- profound
- Very empty- desolate
- Very depressed- despondent
- Very excited- thrilled
- Very detailed- meticulous
- Very exciting- exhilarating
- Very different- disparate
- Very expensive- costly
- Very fancy- lavish
- Very fat- obese
- Very friendly- amiable
- Very frightened- alarmed
- Very frightening- terrifying
- Very funny- hilarious
- Very glad- overjoyed
- Very good- excellent
- Very great- terrific
- Very happy- ecstatic
- Very hard- difficult
- Very hard-to-find- rare
- Very heavy- leaden
- Very high- soaring
- Very hot- sweltering
- Very huge- colossal
- Very hungry- starving
- Very hurt- battered
- Very important- crucial
- Very intelligent- brilliant
- Very interesting- captivating
- Very large- huge
- Very lazy- indolent
- Very little- tiny
- Very long- extensive
- Very long-term- enduring
- Very loose- slack
- Very mean- cruel
- Very messy- slovenly
- Very necessary- essential
- Very nervous- apprehensive
- Very nice- kind
- Very noisy- deafening
- Very often- frequently
- Very old- ancient
- Very old-fashioned- archaic
- Very open- transparent
- Very rainy- pouring
- Very painful- excruciating
- Very rich- wealthy
- Very pale- ashen
- Very sad- sorrowful
- Very perfect- flawless
- Very scared- petrified
- Very poor- destitute
- Very scary- chilling
- Very powerful- compelling
- Very serious- grave
- Very pretty- beautiful
- Very sharp- keen
- Very quick- rapid
- Very shiny- gleaming
- Very quiet- hushed
- Very short- brief
- Very shy- timid
- Very simple- basic
- Very skinny- skeletal
- Very small- petite
- Very smart- intelligent
- Very smelly- pungent
- Very smooth- sleek
- Very soft- downy
- Very sorry- apologetic
- Very sorry- apologetic
- Very special- exceptional
- Very strong- forceful
- Very stupid- idiotic
- Very sure- certain
- Very sweet- thoughtful
- Very talented- gifted
- Very tall- towering
- Very tasty- delicious
- Very thirsty- parched
- Very tight- constricting
- Very tiny- miniscule
- Very tired- exhausted
- Very ugly- hideous
- Very unhappy- miserable
- Very upset- distraught
- Very warm- hot
- Very weak- frail
- Very well-to-do- wealthy
- Very wet- soaked
- Very wide- expansive
- Very willing- eager
- Very windy- blustery
- Very wise- sagacious
- Very worried- distressed
- Very slow- sluggish
