Today, we’ll explore how to strengthen your writing by replacing weak adverbs with strong verbs or adjectives.
What Are Adverbs?
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs by adding more detail to them.
For example, instead of saying someone “closed the door,” you might say they “gently closed the door.” This clarifies how they closed the door. Or when describing someone with the adjective “quiet,” you might instead call them “extremely quiet.”
As you see in these examples, adverbs often end with “-ly.”
How Weak Adverbs Dilute Your Message
You do want your writing to be specific, but weak adverbs make your writing appear lazy. This can undermine your credibility and professionalism.
Often, writers pair a weak adverb with an imprecise verb or adjective when it would be more effective to use one powerful verb or adjective instead.
- Here’s an example of a sentence with a weak adverb and verb: “She easily managed the team through the transition.”
- Instead, we could write: “She streamlined the team’s transition.”
“Streamlined” implies smooth, efficient management.
- Here’s an example of a phrase with a weak adverb and adjective: “very detailed report”
- It would be more effective to use a strong adjective: “comprehensive report”
“Comprehensive” suggests completeness and detail without using “very.”
Strengthen Your Writing by Replacing Weak Adverbs
Nonfiction readers want information that is clear and concise. Strong verbs and adjectives make your writing more direct, allowing you to get to the point faster.
Replacing Weak Adverbs With Powerful Verbs
Here are some examples of how swapping weak adverbs for powerful verbs can sharpen your writing:
- Weak sentence: “He carefully checked the financial reports for errors.”
- Stronger alternative: “He audited the financial reports for errors.”
“Audited” is a more precise verb than “checked,” eliminating the need for “carefully.”
- Weak sentence: “The manager fully understood the importance of employee retention.”
- Stronger alternative: “The manager grasped the importance of employee retention.”
“Grasped” implies a thorough understanding without needing “fully.”
- Weak sentence: “Our new process greatly improved customer satisfaction.”
- Stronger alternative: “Our new process elevated customer satisfaction.”
“Elevated” suggests a significant improvement without needing “greatly.”
- Weak sentence: “They deeply analyzed the market trends before making a decision.”
- Stronger alternative: “They scrutinized the market trends before making a decision.”
“Scrutinized” implies a detailed, thorough examination, so “deeply” is unnecessary.
- Weak sentence: “We constantly reminded employees of their training goals.”
- Stronger alternative: “We reinforced employees’ training goals.”
“Reinforced” is a stronger verb that conveys the continuous nature of the reminders.
Replacing Weak Adverbs With Powerful Adjectives
Below are a few examples of replacing weak adverbs with powerful adjectives:
- Weak phrase: “really important decision”
- Stronger alternative: “crucial decision”
“Crucial” conveys the significance of the decision without needing “really.”
- Weak phrase: “extremely clear instructions”
- Stronger alternative: “explicit instructions”
“Explicit” conveys a high level of clarity without needing “extremely.”
- Weak phrase: “quite challenging problem”
- Stronger alternative: “complex problem”
“Complex” better describes the nature of the challenge than “quite challenging.”
- Weak phrase: “really strong brand identity”
- Stronger alternative: “distinctive brand identity”
“Distinctive” provides a clearer sense of uniqueness, eliminating the need for “really strong.”
- Weak phrase: “extremely valuable advice”
- Stronger alternative: “invaluable advice”
“Invaluable” conveys greater significance than “extremely valuable.”
Should You Use Any Adverbs in Your Writing?
Some editors and writing coaches advise writers not to use adverbs at all. I completely disagree. There are many powerful adverbs in the English language. Here are a few examples (this is by no means an exhaustive list):
- Painstakingly
- Meticulously
- Reluctantly
- Vigorously
- Conscientiously
- Systematically
- Fiercely
- Candidly
The goal is simply to make your writing as precise as possible. In nearly all cases, if you can find a more specific word for what you’re trying to say, use it instead.
Side note: Depending on your audience, you may need to avoid overly precise language and advanced vocabulary. I’ve worked on projects wherein the intended audience was people who speak English as a second language. As such, we tailored vocabulary to a middle-school level to make it more accessible. We also avoided using idioms because their meanings can’t be deduced from the individual words used in them. Always keep your target audience in mind when writing.
If you’d like more support with your writing, feel free to book a call or email me at [email protected].
Owner of Aha! Editorial
Let’s talk about your writing project: https://calendly.com/ashlyn-ahaeditorial
