Many words in the English language have synonyms. Using them in written material allows documents to sound more interesting by virtue of the fact that it helps the writer to avoid what might sound like repetitious phrases. In addition, some synonyms are more precise and have a more professional/academic sound to them than other words which have similar meanings. Rather than writing, for example, I am going to try to get better grades in school, you might write, I am going to attempt to achieve better grades in school.

Here is a short list of common words, and some of their synonyms:

• get……..obtain, acquire, acquire…
• try……..attempt, endeavor, strive…
• make….create, compose, develop…
• find……discover, locate, uncover….
• take……obtain, receive, procure…..
• do………perform, accomplish, achieve
• put……..place, situate, deposit
• give…….offer, present, furnish
• idea…….thought, concept, inspiration

Obviously, this is a very small sample of the thousands of words that are commonly used and their synonyms.

Here’s a hint: when you have written a word in a document for a second or third time, use the Microsoft Word Thesaurus to find a synonym. Doing so will allow your written piece to appear to be fresher and more interesting than it would if you were to use the same words repeatedly.