Use these 41 words to go beyond just ‘good’

To keep your readers engaged, use more precise, descriptive terms such as ‘breathtaking,’ ‘dazzling’ and ‘magnificent.’

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The soul of writing is specificity, yet all too often we lean on general purpose words instead of choosing more precise ones.

Most of our daily communication probably depends on fewer than 1,000 words. Of course, that includes words such as “you,” “I,” “is,” “are,” “of” and “for,” which are already the best words for the job. I admit that sometimes in conversation, I deliberately limit my vocabulary because I don’t want others to look at me quizzically: “Who does he think he is, anyway—one of the authors of a writing tips blog?” The result is vague, even boring, conversation, using words so general they could fit almost everything in the world.

How was your trip? Fine.

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