Choosing Effective Wor ds
Blinn College – Bryan Writing Center
Fall 2016
Choosing Effective Words
The English language is full of words, and no two words have the exact same meaning. To write effectively, writers
must consider the weight that each word carries and the subtle differences between synonyms. This allows the writer
to communicate more effectively while making the writing more exciting.
Exploring Shades of Meaning
Synonyms often differ in their shades of meaning. While two words can have the same definition, each might present
a negative, positive, or neutral implication.
The following bolded words are listed as synonyms in Webster’s Thesaurus. However, they carry different shades of
meaning to accommodate different circumstances.
• Neutral: As I spoke to the man, I realized he was a modest person.
• Positive: The actor remained humble, despite his sudden fame.
• Negative: None of us felt safe fighting alongside such a meek warrior.
These subtleties are important when writing about emotion as well, for the intensity of words can make a paper more
or less credible and, therefore, more or less effective. Writers can adjust the intensity of their words by choosing
between synonyms. This is particularly important when trying to illustrate emotion.
• Low intensity: I was startled when I noticed the snake in the front yard.
• Moderate intensity: My dog stood at my side, shaken at the sight of the creature.
• High intensity: My mother stood petrified as the snake slithered across her shoe.
Also, the writer must be conscious of the weight of adjectives before using them. This weight is often felt by the
audience.
• Mild: She may claim innocence, but there is a considerable amount of evidence against her.
• Moderate: The significant evidence stacked against her gave the defense good reason to worry.
• Heavy: She had no chance after the prosecutor presented an endless amount of evidence.
Notes on Using a Thesaurus
A thesaurus offers synonyms of words. Although some dictionaries provide explanations of usage among synonyms, a
thesaurus provides only a list of synonyms. Therefore, the writer must beware of the shades of meaning between the
synonyms before using them. This is why a thesaurus is best used with a dictionary. Take, for example, the word hard
in a sentence that describes something difficult: “The task was hard.” The following are synonyms taken from the
thesaurus entry for hard.
× The task was firm. (No definition of firm implies difficulty.)
× The task was consolidated. (Again, no definition of consolidated shows difficulty.)
The task was arduous. (This makes sense. The definition of arduous is “hard to accomplish or achieve,” and
this definition perfectly matches our description of the task at hand.)
*Warning* The thesaurus included in word processing programs often suggests synonyms without regarding
their connotations. Using these suggestions without understanding the definition of the word can
result in improper word usage. If you do not know the word that the program suggests, be especially
sure to look up its definition and any usage notes in the dictionary.
