Avoid Redundancy in Your Writing By Using Synonyms

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The English language is an ever-evolving entity full of words from a variety of cultures and languages. Because it is such a hodge-podge of words, the English language allows writers to enhance the beauty of their works by using similar words to avoid repetition. By using many different words with similar meanings, the prose has an opportunity to flow and capture the reader’s imagination.

Purpose

Synonyms offer the writer an opportunity to pinpoint an exact meaning or to create variety in their word choice. In the opposite vein, antonyms are words that mean the exact opposite of what you want. Antonyms are a great way to pinpoint the word you want if you know the opposite.

Nouns

When writing about a particular topic, it can easy to continue to repeat the same word over and over again. Unfortunately, the repetition can kick your reader out of a story or lose their attention altogether. Nouns are the subject of your sentence. Instead of repeating the house several sentences in a row. You could use a synonym such as a residence or home for a similar meaning.

Prepositions

Prepositions are powerful tools that help you indicate location, time and direction. They are always followed by a noun, but because of their frequent use, you may want to throw in a synonym to add specificity or avoid too much repetition. The keys are inside the house versus the keys are in the house has a slightly different meaning. To and toward are synonym prepositions but indicate slightly different actions. Using the right one can give your writing better clarity.

Adjectives

Adjectives modify nouns, but you can get stuck using the same one every time you describe an object, person or place. The beauty of a synonym is that it gives you the opportunity to get even more creative with your prose. Poetry writers particularly benefit from a well-placed synonym. Move beyond simply describing everything as pretty or small. Maybe the view is stunning or gorgeous or breathtaking. Maybe the sheep is tiny or microscopic or miniature. Each word has a meaning that can add layers to your writing.

Verbs

Take action and use a synonym. Your character doesn’t need to walk everywhere. Maybe your character strolls or strides. Each word has a slightly different meaning and can create nuances in character creation ideal for fictional and creative non-fiction works. When everyone walks everywhere, the reader can become bored. By changing it up, you add subtly and change the tone of a passage. You can speed the writing up or slowing it down by using the right synonym.

Transformative

By using multiple parts of speech, literary devices, and a handy thesaurus, you can transform your writing to be exact, vague, fast, slow and deeply evocative. The tone you want to convey can easily be established with the right use of synonyms. When you aren’t sure if this is the best word, use a synonym or antonym list and play with the options. With millions of words available to use, there is the right word for your character, writing, tone, and audience.

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