The Difference Between the Right Word and the Almost Right Word

One thing I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post (More About Adverbs) is that when you use a thesaurus to replace a word in your writing, you have to be careful not to change its original meaning. No two words in the world mean the exact same thing – that’s why they are different words. Even “he shouted” and “he yelled” have slightly different connotations. But more often than not, that slight difference in meaning doesn’t matter, and you can interchange those words throughout your writing.

But there are times when the thesaurus gives you a word that doesn’t make sense in your context, or, even if it does make sense, it chops up your writing instead of letting it flow.

Example: Her heart was pounding. “Are you sure?” she asked.

A thesaurus option: Her heart was pounding. “Are you sure?” she inquired.

Okay, so they mean the same thing. “To ask” is the same as “to inquire.” But “inquired” sounds so unnatural and awkward. Especially in this context. Her heart is pounding, right? That implies suspense. So, picture your reader, rushing through the pages of your book, wanting so badly to know what happens next- and then you throw in a word like “inquire.” What’s your reader going to think? What the heck? Yeah, that’s about right.

“Inquire” sounds so formal and awkward. It’s not right when you’ve got hearts pounding and action going on. The word jolts your readers and almost pulls them out of the world of your book. It reminds them that it’s not real. You do not want to do that to your readers.

Usually, it’s really easy to tell what sounds weird and what sounds right. When you let other people read your work, they will tell you as well. But here’s a general rule of thumb that I follow when using a thesaurus: If I’ve never heard the word in my life, I don’t use it. To me, when I use a thesaurus, I look at the words and think, Oh! That’s right! I completely forgot about those words! Or I think, Yes! That’s the word I was looking for! The thesaurus is really more to jog my memory than to learn new words. But I’m not saying that you should never use new words- it’s just that if you do, make sure you look them up in the dictionary and are completely sure about the meaning. Don’t pull them straight from the thesaurus. It also helps if you look at examples that use the word in a sentence.

Even the way a word sounds can determine whether you should use it or not, even if it has the meaning you’re looking for. Did you know that the word “pulchritudinous” means “beautiful”? If a guy had called me that and I hadn’t known what it meant, I think I’d have hit him!

Edit: The title of this post is part of a quote by Mark Twain. Check out the Quotes About Writing page to read the full quote!

40 thoughts on “The Difference Between the Right Word and the Almost Right Word

  1. Wonderful goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you’re just too excellent. I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you’re stating and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it sensible. I can’t wait to read much more from you. This is actually a tremendous website.

  2. Had taken me time for you to read every one of the comments, but I truly enjoyed this content. It became Very helpful to me and I am sure to the many commenters right here! It’s constantly nice when you are able not just be knowledgeable, but additionally entertained! I’m sure you possessed fun writing this informative article.

  3. Weeks ago, i saw one of your posts and i loved it. It’s just now that read one of your materials again. I just like the way you stated it all and make it a lot easier to understand.You know, I’ve been reading a lot of blogs before but this one’s a breathe of fresh air. Keep up the good work and I’ll be looking forward for your next post.

  4. Good Day! My name is Jess. I just want to thank you for this post. My friend saw this site and she encourages me to view this page. Well, i do not regret going here to think that your works are quite interesting and informative. Thanks for nice blog! Keep safe.

  5. I believe this is one of the such a lot important info for me. And i’m happy reading your article. But wanna remark on some normal things, The site style is wonderful, the articles is really nice :D. Good process, cheers.

  6. I am extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one these days..

  7. Hi everyone. Fascinating subject for a weblog. I was just surfing the Web for fun when I discovered your web site. Fabulous post. Thanks a ton for sharing your thoughts! It’s great to see that some people nonetheless put in an effort into managing their web sites. Ill be certain to look in from time to time.

  8. Admiring the persistence you put into your site and in depth information you offer. It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material. Excellent read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.

  9. That’s the kind of article I like to read, exceptionally well written and with great content. I would like to start a blog on the same subject but I’m not as good a writer as you are!

  10. I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one today..

  11. These are genuinely wonderful ideas in regarding blogging.
    You have touched some good points here. Any way keep up wrinting.

  12. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I seriously enjoyed reading it, you
    can be a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and may
    come back very soon. I want to encourage you to ultimately continue your great posts, have a nice morning!

  13. Greetings I am so glad I found your blog, I really found you by mistake,
    while I was researching on Yahoo for something else, Anyways
    I am here now and would just like to say kudos for a fantastic post and
    a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look
    over it all at the moment but I have saved it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep
    up the superb work.

  14. I’m really impressed with the writing skills along with with the
    layout on your blog. Is that this a paid theme or do you customize it yourself?
    Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it really is rare to view a nice blog like this
    one nowadays.

  15. Mark Twain, who became the most famous man in the world during his time, knew how important words were. He’s famous for saying “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

  16. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I seriously enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.I will make sure to
    bookmark your blog and definitely will come back down the road.
    I want to encourage that you continue your great work, have a nice morning!

Comments are closed.