Overused Adjectives

Many people make the mistake of using the same adjectives over and over again. We must choose more vivid adjectives. Some overused adjectives are the following:

great
nice
good
rotten

bad
terrible
awful
super

wonderful
fine
okay
neat

Although there is nothing wrong with the adjectives above, we should try to use more specific or interesting ones if we can. We can always consult the dictionary or thesaurus for more choices.

WEAK: It was a great story.
BETTER: It was a thrilling (or moving, stimulating, breathtaking, exciting, hilarious, hair-raising) story.

WEAK: My uncle is nice.
BETTER: My uncle is kind (or gracious, generous, warmhearted, loving, jovial, friendly).

WEAK: Geraldine feels fine today.
BETTER: Geraldine feels healthy (or energetic, elated, upbeat, fantastic, cheerful, happy) today.

WEAK: I felt bad today.
BETTER: I felt ill (or depressed, guilty, disappointed, miserable, sad, unhappy, wretched) today.

WEAK: The U. S. Constitution is good!
BETTER: The U. S. Constitution is innovative (or effective, brilliant, practical, impressive).

WEAK: The Articles of Confederation were bad.
BETTER: The Articles of Confederation were deficient (or flawed, faulty, ineffective, inadequate, insufficient).

Examples

Rewrite each sentence, replacing  overused adjectives with more vivid ones.

  1. We had a good trip.
  2. The damage was bad.
  3. My day was wonderful.
  4. That bulldog is nice.
  5. Don't waste your time watching that terrible movie.
  6. George Whitefield was a good preacher.
  7. This apple tastes bad.

Solutions

We replace overused adjectives. Our answers will vary. Here are some possibilities:

  1. We had a (pleasant, delightful, enjoyable) trip.
  2. The damage was (disastrous, frightful, dreadful).
  3. My day was (magnificent, refreshing, incredible).
  4. That bulldog is (pleasant, friendly, agreeable, enjoyable, well-behaved).
  5. Don't waste your time watching that (boring, crude, shoddy, substandard, frightening, horrid) movie.
  6. George Whitefield was a (dynamic, magnetic, brilliant, popular, powerful) preacher.
  7. This apple tastes (sour, fermented, rotten, mushy, bitter, bruised, old, unripe).