Words to use instead of “very”, and when to keep it
Replace “very” plus a word with one stronger word when that word says what you mean: very tired becomes exhausted, and very important becomes essential. Each swap shifts the meaning a little. Sometimes a detail works better than any word: “I slept four hours” says more than “very tired”.
“Very” is one of the most common words in English, and in conversation it is often fine. In writing, a run of very good, very important and very interesting asks the reader to take your word for it. A stronger word, or a detail, lets them see it.
Common swaps, and what changes
| Instead of | Try | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| very good | excellent, outstanding, superb | Excellent is the safe all-rounder. Outstanding means better than the others around it. Superb sounds more personal and enthusiastic. |
| very bad | terrible, awful, dreadful, poor | Terrible and awful are strong and informal. Poor is calmer and suits feedback: “the sound quality was poor”. |
| very important | essential, vital, crucial, key | Essential and vital mean you cannot do without it. Crucial means a result depends on it. Key works best before a noun: a key point. |
| very happy | delighted, thrilled, overjoyed | Delighted is warm and polite, fine in a work email. Thrilled is more excited. Overjoyed is for big personal news. |
| very sad | heartbroken, devastated, miserable | Heartbroken and devastated are for real loss and can sound dramatic about small things. Miserable is about a low mood that lasts. |
| very angry | furious, livid, incensed | All are much stronger than annoyed. Livid is informal. Incensed suggests anger at something unfair. |
| very tired | exhausted, drained, worn out | Exhausted is physical as well as mental. Drained suggests your energy or emotions have been used up. |
| very scared | terrified, petrified | Both are extreme. Petrified can also mean frozen with fear. |
| very interesting | fascinating, absorbing, compelling | Fascinating means it held your attention. Compelling suggests it was convincing too, as with an argument or a story. |
| very big | huge, enormous, vast | Huge and enormous describe size or amount. Vast suits areas and spaces: a vast desert, a vast majority. |
| very small | tiny, minute, slight | Tiny is everyday. Minute (said my-NYOOT) is formal or exact. Slight is for amounts and changes, not objects: a slight delay. |
| very difficult | challenging, demanding, gruelling | Challenging can sound positive, like a test worth taking. Demanding needs effort or skill. Gruelling is long and exhausting. |
| very easy | effortless, straightforward, simple | Straightforward means no hidden complications. Effortless describes how it felt, often for someone skilled. |
| very busy | swamped, flat out, hectic | Swamped means too much to do. Flat out is informal British English. Hectic describes a day or a place more than a person. |
| very cold / very hot | freezing, icy / boiling, scorching, sweltering | Sweltering is hot and uncomfortable, often humid. Scorching is fierce, dry heat, as with the sun. |
| very clean / very dirty | spotless, immaculate / filthy, grimy | Immaculate also suggests perfectly neat. Grimy is covered in a layer of dirt. |
Don’t say “very exhausted”
Many of these words already mean “extremely”, so “very exhausted” and “very enormous” sound wrong to most native speakers. To strengthen them, use absolutely, completely or totally: absolutely exhausted, completely spotless. A quick check: if the word already means “very” plus something (exhausted is very tired, enormous is very big), reach for absolutely.
Sometimes a detail beats any word
A stronger adjective still only tells the reader how you felt. In feedback, reviews and complaints, a fact usually does more:
“The service was very slow.”
“The service was painfully slow.”
“We waited 40 minutes for our starters.”
When to keep “very”
- When the stronger word overshoots. “I was very pleased with the result” sounds measured in a work email, and “I was ecstatic” probably isn’t what you meant.
- In speech, where your tone does much of the work. “That’s very kind of you” is a perfectly good thing to say.
- In fixed phrases where very means “exactly”: the very first time, that very day, the very thing I needed.
Play: pick the stronger word
Five sentences that each had a “very” in them. Choose the word that fits best, then see why.
Stronger word
1 / 5Clear instructions are ____ if you want volunteers to come back.
Check the answer
Essential. It means you cannot do without them. Key works best before a noun, as in “the key thing”, and enormous is about size.
Thank you for the invitation. We would be ____ to come.
Check the answer
Delighted. It is warm and polite, which suits a reply to an invitation. Ecstatic and overjoyed would sound over the top.
After the twelve-hour shift, she was absolutely ____.
Check the answer
Exhausted. Absolutely goes with words that already mean “extremely”. “Absolutely tired” and “absolutely sleepy” sound odd.
Not a crumb on the counter and every cushion straight: the flat was ____.
Check the answer
Immaculate. Spotless only means perfectly clean. Immaculate also means perfectly neat, and the straight cushions are the clue. Grimy is the opposite.
The packed, stuffy carriage had no air conditioning, and it was ____.
Check the answer
Sweltering. It means hot, airless and uncomfortable. Scorching suggests fierce, dry heat, like strong sun on your skin, and freezing points the other way.
Your score
Practise choosing the stronger word
Choosing between two close words for a sentence is what arcoco’s games ask you to do, on iPhone and Android. There is another five-round game on our homepage, or see how arcoco works.
We make arcoco. The examples on this page were written for this site, not taken from the app.
For full entries, see Cambridge Dictionary for exhausted, essential and delighted.