The Synonym Question: Whose Advice is Right?
Never, in the history of the written word has there been more contradictory writing advice than that surrounding synonyms. Possibly hyperbolic? Sure. But I stand by it.
Our school teachers told us constantly that we had to vary our language and that using “said” over and over was too repetitive. But as we learn and grow as writers, so many of our professional colleagues or writers we look up to say the exact opposite.
So which is it? Are synonyms a marker of purple prose, resulting in overwritten novels that are hard to read? Or is not using them a sign of an amateur writer who lacks the imagination to use more varied language?
The truth, as with most things in writing, lives somewhere in the messy middle. While it may be cliché, it’s also a fundamental truth: moderation is key.
Why Synonyms Matter
English is a gloriously bloated language. It’s a mongrel of Latin, French, German, Old Norse, and about a dozen other languages that all ended up on the British Isles through invasion, trade, and migration. This means we often have multiple words for the same concept, thus creating synonyms. But the thing about synonyms is that they may be similar in concept, but they rarely mean exactly the same thing.
Let’s take the word “happy” as an example. Your thesaurus might offer you synonym suggestions like joyful, elated, cheerful, content, pleased, ecstatic, blissful.
Do they all share similar meanings? Absolutely. Are those interchangeable? Not even close.
A character who has just won the lottery might be ecstatic. A character drinking tea by a window on a rainy Sunday might be content. A character who has just baked a particularly tasty pie might be pleased.
In each instance, the character is what could be described as happy. But the context of the kind of happiness they’re showing changes the word based on their circumstances. Each word carries its own emotional weight, its own connotation, its own shade of meaning.
The real power of synonyms is not in avoiding repetition. Instead, it’s about precision. And this is often where the contradictory advice comes from. If you use the wrong synonym in the wrong context, your writing will lose its meaning. A synonym should be chosen as the most fitting word for a given context, rather than just to add variation.
When Synonyms Work
Now that we’ve established that a synonym is and should do more than just add variety to your writing, we need to dive into when, how, and why you should use them to best effect. Synonyms work best when they do one of three things:
1. They’re more specific
“She looked at him” is fine if that’s all the character is doing. But “she glared at him,” “she studied him,” or “she gaped at him” all tell us something about how she was looking. The synonym in this context is information.
2. They match the tone
A hard-boiled detective conducting an interview with a suspect doesn’t inquire. He asks. Maybe he demands. A Victorian lady in a historical romance doesn’t just require something, she desires it, or perhaps she longs for it. Your word choice should sound like it belongs in your character’s mouth and your story’s world.
3. They improve rhythm
Sometimes the same word appearing twice in close proximity creates an awkward echo. This is where the advice for not overusing said originates. The problem there is that it’s often taken to mean that instead of repeating “he said,” “she said,” people will often replace this with something like “he barked,” “she opined,” which is just as repetitive.
Where a synonym works to improve rhythm is when it’s used to change the context and flow of the way a sentence or paragraph is constructed. The replacement needs to fit naturally and also work in the context that surrounds it. Don’t just replace a word with a synonym to avoid repetition. Think of a synonym, consider its meaning, and see how you can structure your words around that intended meaning instead of just swapping like for like.
When Synonyms Don’t Work
When you write for readers, their experience of your work should be the primary focus. You want to make sure that your ideas are something that readers will understand and vibe with. There’s something you want to tell them, and it’s your job as the writer to make sure they walk away from your work with the message you intended, and while it might seem odd to say, synonyms actually do play a pretty massive part in making sure your readers grasp your intentions and understand your work. Synonyms don’t work when they do the following:
1. Lack clarity
If your reader has to pause and wonder what a word means, you’ve lost them. The point of writing is communication, and for effective communication, you need clarity. A word that sends readers scrambling for a dictionary isn’t impressive on its own.
If it doesn’t work contextually, or is just a complicated way of explaining something that could have been stated simply, it becomes an obstacle. I recently read a non-fiction book in which a character who was fifty years old was described as “A little over a half a century in age,” and I can’t even begin to tell you how quickly I DNF’d after that.
2. Give unnecessary variety
Sometimes repetition is the right choice. If your character walks to the door, walks down the hall, and walks out into the street, that’s probably fine. Not every verb needs to flex. Readers barely notice common words, but they absolutely notice when you’ve laboured to avoid them.
Consider this overwritten alternative: “She walked to the door, strode down the hall, and sauntered out into the street.” And yet, “She walked to the door, walked down the hall, and walked out onto the street,” works better. But it could still be improved with implying the repetition rather than actually repeating it.
In the above example, repetition is the right choice, but it doesn’t have to be explicitly stated. Instead, “She walked to the door, down the hall, and out onto the street,” implies the repetition of walked without actually restating it and makes for a much smoother read (it’s similar advice to not repeating the word said when you can actually just use dialogue without the recurring dialogue tags).
3. When the synonym doesn’t actually mean what you think
This is the thesaurus trap. “Said” and “proclaimed” are not the same thing. Neither are “walked” and “traipsed.” Synonyms often share a general meaning but diverge in specifics, formality, or connotation.
If you’re not sure about a word, look it up, because there is nothing more distracting to a reader than a word used incorrectly in the wrong context.
A Practical Guide to Common Synonyms
So, should you use synonyms? Yes. But should you always use synonyms? No.
Unhelpfully, both contradictory sets of writing advice are correct, but, much like the synonyms themselves, they don’t work without context.
So let’s look at some common words and their synonyms, and actually take a moment to pay attention to the differences, which will hopefully help you use them intentionally.
Synonyms for “Said”
| Synonym | When to Use It |
|---|---|
| Whispered | The character is being quiet, secretive, or intimate |
| Muttered | The character is speaking low, often with resentment or reluctance |
| Shouted | Volume is high, emotion is strong |
| Replied | Responding to something someone else said |
| Admitted | The character is confessing or acknowledging something reluctantly |
| Insisted | The character is being emphatic or stubborn |
| Suggested | The character is offering an idea tentatively |
Most of the time, “said” is invisible. If you start replacing every “said” with a more elaborate alternative, your dialogue will feel like it’s having an identity crisis. Use these sparingly when the emotional context genuinely calls for it, and also think about how you can structure your writing around that context rather than simply replacing “said.”
Synonyms for “Walked”
| Synonym | Tone/Context |
|---|---|
| Strolled | Casual, unhurried, relaxed |
| Marched | Purposeful and structured, maybe angry or determined |
| Trudged | Exhaustion, reluctance, heaviness |
| Crept | Stealth, caution, fear |
| Strode | Confidence, long strides, authority |
| Wandered | Aimlessness, no clear destination |
| Shuffled | Slow, tired, possibly elderly or unwell |
Synonyms for “Looked”
| Synonym | Tone/Context |
|---|---|
| Glanced | Brief, possibly casual |
| Stared | Prolonged, intense, possibly rude |
| Gazed | Dreamy, admiring, lost in thought |
| Peered | Trying to see something unclear |
| Glared | Angry, hostile |
| Examined | Careful, analytical |
| Squinted | Difficulty seeing, suspicion |
Synonyms for “Beautiful”
| Synonym | Tone/Context |
|---|---|
| Gorgeous | Strong, often physical beauty |
| Stunning | Surprising, takes your breath away |
| Lovely | Softer, gentler, often used in British slang outside of appearance |
| Elegant | Refined, graceful, often about style |
| Striking | Unusual, memorable, not necessarily conventional |
| Radiant | Glowing, often about faces or smiles |
Naturally, we can’t go through every word in the English dictionary and list out all possible synonyms (that’s what a thesaurus is for!), but hopefully, the above illustrates that while synonyms are useful, they’re not always interchangeable.
Like all elements of writing, you must use synonyms with intention and think about how they fit into what you’re trying to say. A thesaurus is a great resource, but you also need to understand the contextual differences of anything it might suggest as a valid alternative.
