Alternatives for Boring

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is:

And I’m not talking about drilling… Personally I don't think I've ever been bored -- boring maybe, :) but never bored. I have become frustrated when I couldn't do something because of time constraints, lack of materials, lack of money, etc. There have certainly been times when I have become disinterested in something I was doing/seeing/listening to etc. In those cases I've moved on to something else. But bored? There's just too much to do, too many things to learn, places to go, books to read. I personally have never understood how/why people get bored. 

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

annoying, arid, aseptic

barren, big yawn, blank, blah, bomb, bothersome, bromidic, bummer, by rote

characterless, cloying, colorless, common, commonplace, cumbersome

dead, debilitating, demoralizing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting, drab, drag, draining, dreary, drudging, dry, dry as dust, dull/dullish, dullard, dusty

earthbound, enfeebling, exhausting,

flat, fuddy-duddy

gray/grey

harp on the same thing, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum

inanimate, irksome, irritating, insipid, interminable

jading, fatiguing, jejune

leaden, lifeless, longsome, lumbering

mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, moth-eaten, mundane

nothing, nowhere, numbing

old, one note song, ordinary

pallid, palling, pedantic, pedestrian, platitudinous, plebeian, pleasureless, plodding, poky/pokey, ponderous, prosaic, prosy

repetitious, routine

slow, soggy, spiritless stale, stereotyped, sterile, stodgy, stuffed shirt, stuffy, stupid, suspenselss

tame, tedious, tepid, threadbare, tiresome, tiring, trite

undramatic, uneventful, unexceptional, unexciting, unimaginative, uninspiring, uninteresting, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular, unsurprising, unvaried

vapid

wearisome, weary, wearying, well-worn

yawnsome

zero

In case you still aren't sure what boring is, check out this very funny song!

So tell me, do you get bored? If so, what how do you combat it?

Alternatives for Big

I've been having computer issues this week... which have been driving me a little crazy. I can't say that it's totally fixed yet either.

***

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is:

Big band, big cheese, big shot, bigwig... I don't think these are improved as colossal band, elephantine cheese, humongous shot,  or vastwig, but you get the idea. And what about movies like The Big Chill, Little Big Man and Big Fish? Let's play, The Ample Chill, Little Large Man, Fat Fish. 

Depending on how you use it, this list (which is not complete) may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

a whale of a, adult, aggrandized, altruistic, amble, arch (as in enemy) arrogant, arty, astronomic/astronomical, awash, awesome, awful

banging, bear-sized, benevolent, bighearted, blow one’s own trumpet, blown-up, bluster, boast/boastful, bouffant ,bounteous/bountiful, brag/braggart/bragging, brimming, broad, Brobdingnagian, bulky, bull, burly, buxom

capacious, capital, cardinal, central, chief, chivalrous, chock-full, chubby, cock-a-hoop, colossal, commodious, conceited, considerable, considerate, copious, cosmic, crow, crowded, crowd-pleasing

deep, dominant, double

earthshaking, earth-shattering, elder, elephantine, elevated, eminent, enceinte, enlarged, enormous, epic, eventful, exaggerate, expectant, extended, extensive

faddish, fashionable, fat, favorite, first, flamboyant, free, freehanded, full, full-grown, full-sized

galactic, gallant, gargantuan, gravid, generous, giant, gigantic, giving, goodly, gracious, grand, great, greathearted, grown, grown-up

handsome, happening, haughty, heavy, heavy-duty, heavyweight, hefty, heroic, high/highest, high-minded, high-sounding, historic, hot, huge, hulking/hulky, humongous, husky

immense, imperious, important, imposing, in, inflated, influential, intense

jumbo

key, king-sized

large, large-mouthed, large-scale, larger-than-life, leading, liberal, life-sized, lofty, lordly, lusty

macro, macroscopic, magnanimous, main, major, major league, mammoth, man-sized, massive, master, material, mature, meaningful, mod/modish, momentous, mondo, monolithic, monumental, monster/monstrous, mountainous, much, muscular

noble, number one, numero uno,

obese, openhanded, openhearted, outsized, overbearing, overblown, overlarge, overmastering, overriding, oversized, overweight

packed, paramount, plump/plumping, plush, pompous, ponderous, pop, potent,  powerful, predominant, preeminent, premier, primal, primary, prime, principle, prodigious, prominent, presumptuous, pretentious, princely, prodigious, proud, puffy,

queen-sized

rangy, red-hot, rich, robust, roomy,

self-aggrandizing, serious, significant, sizable, sovereign, spacious, stout, strapping, strong, stuffed, stupendous, substantial, super, super colossal, supreme, swelled

tall, thumping, thundering, titanic, tidy, too large, toot one’s own horn, tremendous, tubby,

unselfish

vainglorious, valuable, vast, vaunt, vogue/voguish, volumed, voluminous,

walloping, weighty, whacking, whopper/whopping, wide, wide-ranging

How about this bit of VAST LOVE? 

Alternatives for Better

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is:

I better tell you right now, that more isn't always better. Still, sometimes it's nice to have some better words to use. Better now than never. Say better many time really fast and it starts to sound funny.

Depending on how you use it, this list (which is not complete) may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

above, acceptable, accommodate, acculturate, ace, a cut above, adapt, adjust, admirable, advance, advantage, agreeable, ahead, alter/altered, ameliorate, amend, ascendant

bad (slang), beat, best, better for, better off, bigger, boost, boss, brass hat, bully

cap, capital, choice/chosen, civilize, commendable, congenial, control, convert, correct, crack

defeat, deluxe, desirable, distinguished

eclipsing, edify, educate, elder, elevate, emend, eminent. enhance, enlighten, enrich, exceed/exceeding, excel/excelling, excellent, exceptional, extraordinary

fatten, favor/favorable, finer, first-class, first-rate, fit/fitter, forward, foster, further

get the upper hand, gnarly, gratifying, great/greater

happier, help, higher-up, higher quality, honorable

improve/improved, improve on/upon, improvement, is greater in a more excellent manner, in a superior way, is superior to

larger

marked, marvelous, mastery, meliorate, mend, metamorphosed, mitigate, modified/modify, modulate, more, more advantageous, more appropriate, more attractive, more competent, more complete, more desirable, more effective, more expert, more fitting, more select, more suitable, more thorough, more useful, more valuable, most

neat, nice, nurture

of choice, one up on, outdo, outshine, outsmart, outstanding, outstrip, outweigh, outwit, over, overbalance, overbear, overcome, overpass, overthrow, overtop

perfect, pleasing, positive, precious, predominate, preferable, preferred, prevail over, prime, prominent, promote

qualified/qualify

rad, raise, rare, realign, rebuild, recherche, reconsider, reconstruct, recover, recreate, rectify, redesign, refine, refit, reform, reputable, remake, renew, reshape, restructure, revamp, revive, revolutionize, richer

satisfactory, satisfying, score off, select, senior, shipshape, sound, spanking, splendid, sterling, streets ahead, stupendous, super, superior, surpass/surpassing

the bees knees, tip-top, to a greater degree, to be preferred, top/topping, top drawer, top shelf, tower above/over, transform, transcend, translated, triumph over, trump, turn the scale, turn the tables, turn the tide, turn upside down

unhoped-for, unmitigated, upgrade, uplife, upper, up to snuff

valuable, vary

wealthier, welcome, well-advised, win, wiser, wonderful, work a change, worthier/worthy

***

I think this list is the bees knees myself. Got a favorite alternative?

And because I couldn't think of a more gnarly song... :) 

Alternatives for Happy

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is:

Because the month of May was not so happy, I decided to jump ahead in my list of over used words to this one. It's all about reprogramming the brain. Discovering all the wonderful synonyms was refreshing and a much needed soothing balm. I hope you enjoy reading through it. If it doesn't lift your spirits, something may be wrong with you.

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

activated, active, advantageous, airy, alert, animated, applicable, apposite, appropriate, apropos, apt, ardent, at ease, auspicious

beaming, beatific, becoming, befitting, behooving, beseeming, blessed, blest, blissful, blithe, blithesome, bouncy, buoyant, breezy, bright, bright and breezy, brisk, bullish

can’t complain, captivated, carefree, cheerful, cheery, chipper, chirpy, chuffed (British) cock-a-hoop, conforming, content, contented, convenient, convivial, correct, crazy

debonair, decent, decorous, delighted, devil-may-care, dotty, dynamic

easy going, ebullient, ecstatic, effervescent, elastic, elated, elysian, energetic, energized, enraptured, enthusiastic, entranced, enviable, euphoric, excited, exhilarated, expansive, exuberant, exultant

fanciful, favorable, felicitous, fervent, fervid, festive, feverish, fit, fitting, flippant, floating on air, fluky, flying high, fortuitous, fortunate, frolicsome, full of pep, full of zip, fun

gay, genial, germane, glad, gladsome, gleeful, glowing, golden, graceful, gratified

halcyon, happy-go-lucky, healthy, heaven-sent, heedless, high-spirited, hopeful

impassioned, in good spirits, intoxicated, invigorated

jaunty, jocund, jolly, jovial, joyful, joyous, jubilant, just

keen, knee-deep, kosher

laid back, laughing, light, lighthearted, lively, looking good, lucky

meet, merry, mirthful

nice, nonchalant, nuts

of good cheer, on cloud nine, on the button, on the nose, on top of the world, opportune, optimistic, overjoyed, over the moon

paradisial, passionate, peaceful, peppy, perky, pertinent, playful, pleasant, pleased, pleased as punch, positive, pretty, promising, proper, propitious, prosperous

quick

rapt, rapturous, rejoicing, relaxed, relieved, relevant, resilient, rhapsodic, rhapsodical, riant, right, right on, rosy

sanguine, satisfied, satisfactory, seasonable, seemly, silly, smiling, snappy, sparkling, spirited, sprightly, suitable, sunny, successful, supple

thankful, thrilled, tickled, tickled pink, timely

unconcerned, untroubled, up, upbeat

vibrant, vigorous, vital, vitalized, vivacious, vivid

walking on air, walking on sunshine, well-timed, what the doctor ordered, whimsical

zeaous, zestful, zingy, zippy

***

If ever there was a song that was effervescent, up beat, playful, jubilant, bright and breezy, it's got to be this one. It makes me want to get up and dance for joy. It makes me smile and feel good.

Got a favorite synonym for happy? A favorite happy song?

Alternatives for Believe

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. 


Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

Today's word is:  Believe

I allege there are better ways to spend one's time than worrying about things that might happen. I hold to the opinion that life is too short to be small. I imagine that I am one tiny thread in an infinitely complex web. I believe in love.

absorb, accept, account, accredit, adduce, admit, advance, affirm, air for, allege, analyze, appraise, appreciate, apprehend, ask, assay, assert, assess, assume, attach weight to,

bank on, bargain for, be certain of, be convinced of, be credulous, be of the opinion, bear in mind, bet bottom dollar, bet on, budget, buy

calculate, call for, care for, cast, catch, challenge, cipher, class, classify, collect, compass, comprehend, compute, conceive, conclude, conjecture, consider, count, count on, credit

decide, declare, deduce, deem, defend, depend on, determine, dig, digest

enumerate, envisage, estimate, evaluate, exact, examine, expect, expect from

fall for, fancy, fathom, feel, figure, follow, form opinion

gather, gauge, get, get the picture, give credence to, glean, grasp, guess, guesstimate

have, have dibs on, have faith in, have no doubt, hazard a guess, heed, hit, hit up, hold, hold an opinion, hold out for, hypothesize

imagine, infer, insist

judge, justify

keep in view, keep the faith, knock, know

lap up, lay claim to, lean on, look into, look upon

make allowance for, maintain

need, number

outline

perceive, pick up, pin faith on, place confidence in, plan, plan on, pop the question, posit, postulate, predict, presume, presume true, presuppose, pretend, profess, pronounce, prophesy

rank, rate, read, realize, reason, reckon on, reckon with, recognize, reflect, regard, rely on, remember, require, requisition, respect, rest assured, rest on, run over

scheme, score, sense, set a figure, set down, size up, solicit, speculate, stake on, stake out, sum, suppose, surmise, suspect, swallow, swear by

take, take a shot, take a stab, take as gospel, take at one’s word, take for granted, take into account, take it, take on, tax, theorize, think, think of, think through, trust, twig (this is new one on me)

understand, uphold

view, vindicate

Here's a trip down memory lane, from 1965. The Lovin' Spoonful were upbeat and refreshing at a time when things were getting edgy in the US and world stage and music was expressing discontent.


Dare I ask what you believe in?

Alternatives for Begin

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. 

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.


Today's words are:  Begin/began


I can't begin to tell you how much fun I have finding all these synonyms!

accept, accomplish, achieve, acquire, activate, actualize, appear, appropriate, arrogate, arise, attend to

base, be at the bottom of, begin, brainstorm, break ground, break in, break the ice, breed, bring about, bring to pass, burst forth,

carry on, carry out, cause, come out with, come to light, commence, compel, confiscate, constitute, consummate, contribute to, convert, convince, cook, cook up, create, crop up

derive, develop, dispose, do, do a number, do one’s thing, don, dream up, drive,

effect, elicit, emanate, embark on/upon, embrace, emerge, enforce, engender, ensue, enter on/into/upon, erupt, establish, eventuate, evoke, execute, explore

fire up, flow, follow, force, formulate, found, function,

generate, get going, get in there, get things rolling, give birth to, give impulse, give rise to, go about, go ahead, go for broke, go for it, go in for, go into, go that route, go to town

happen, hatch, head,

impel, inaugurate, incite, induce, inflict, initiate, instigate, institute, introduce, intrude, issue,

kick off, kindle, knock off

labor, launch, lay foundation for, lead, lead to, let

make, make active, make progress, make up, maneuver, motivate, mount, move, muster,

occasion, occur, officiate, open, operate, originate,

percolate, perk, perpetrate, persuade, persevere, persist, plunge into, practice, precipitate, prepare, preside, produce, prompt, provoke, pursue

respond, result, result in, revert, rise

secure, seize, serve, set about, set in motion, set up, sow the seeds, spring, sprint up, start, start the ball rolling, stem, sway,

take effect, take on, take over, take part, take steps, take up, think up, transport, trigger,

undertake

work out, work up, wreak

This is a nice rendition by Pete Townsend of "Begin the Beguine," a song written by Cole Porter, one of my all time favorite song writers. I love that it's just Pete and his guitar. .

For a more traditional version, this is Ella Fitzgerald with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, 1940. The dancers are Fred Astraire and Eleanor Powell. They float across the floor, beautiful!

Alternatives for Because

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. 

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

Today's word is:  Because


Because is such a handy word. It reeks of excuse. I mean, didn't Adam say to God, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid BECAUSE I was naked; so I hid."

"By virtue of the fact that I was naked, I was afraid and hid."
"Considering that I was naked, I was afraid and hid."
"Thanks to being naked, I was afraid and hid." (hee, hee, hee.)

***

as, as a result of, as long as, as things go,

being, being as how, by cause of, by reason of, by the agency of by virtue of,

considering,

due to,

for, for the reason that, for the sake of,

given,

in as much as, in behalf of, in light of, in that, in the interest of, in view of, is caused by,

now that,

on account of, on the grounds that, over, owing to,

seeing, since,

thanks to, through,

whereas

***

And now, BECAUSE the harmonies are delicious and the words so simple and beautiful, and BECAUSE it is Valentine's Day, I leave you with BECAUSE by The Beatles.

However because the video contain content from Sony ATV Publishing, it's restricted from playback on certain sites. Like my blog so you will have to go HERE to listen.

I do hope you will pause for the 2 minutes and 50 seconds it takes to listen to this song and relax into the ahhhhhhhhhhs. It's from me to you.

Alternatives

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. 


Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

Today's word is:  Beautiful

You can learn about its etymology HERE.


To me, there isn't anything that can adequately take the place of BEAUTIFUL. The word itself, the way it sounds, the way it rolls off the lips is... beautiful. Certainly, pulchritudinous doesn't cut it. Anyway, we can all over-use it and to that end I offer up this list of possible synonyms. 

A1, admirable, Adonis, adorable, aesthetic, alluring, angelic, A-OK, Aphrodite, Apollo, appealing, arresting, attractive, awesome

bang-up, banner, beaming, beauteous, becoming, bewitching, blooming, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny, boss, brag, brave, bright, bright-eyed, brilliant, bully, bumper, butterfly

capital, captivating, charming, chocolate-box, choice, classic/classy, comely, cool, corking, crackerjack, cracking, cunning, cute

dainty, dandy, dapper, dazlious, dazzling, decent, delicate, delightful, desirable, dish/dishy, divine, doll, dope, down, drop-dead, dynamite

elegant, enchanting, engaging, enthralling, enticing, excellent, exceptional, exquisite, eye-catching

fab, fabulous, fair/fairness, famous, fancy, fantabulous, fantastic, fascinating, fetching, fine, first-class/first-rate/first-string, fit to be seen, five-star, flamboyant, flashy, flawless,

flower-like, foxy, frontline

gangbusters, gilt-edged, glamorous, glorious, glossy, glowing, gone, good-looking goodly, gorgeous, grace/graceful, grand, great, groovy

handsome, harmonious heavenly, Helen of Troy, high-class, high-grade, high-test, hot, hunk/hunky

ideal, immaculate, immense, in full bloom, inviting

jaunty, jim-dandy, Junoesque

keen, knockout

likely, lovely, lovesome, luscious

magnetic, magnificent, marvelous, mesmeric

Narcissus, natty, neat, nice, nifty, noble, nubile, number one, numero uno

ornamental, out-of-sight

par excellence, peachy, perfect, personable, photogenic, picturesque, pleasant/pleasing,

polished, premium, prepossessing, presentable, pretty, prize-winning, pulchritudinous

quaint, quality

radiant, radical, ravishing, refined, resplendent, rich, righteous, rosy/rosy-cheeked ruddy

scenic, seductive, seemly, select, sensational, sexy, shapely, shining, show-stopping, showy, sightly, sleek, slick, smart, snazzy sparkling, splashy, splendid/splendor, spotless,

spruce, statuesque, stellar, sterling, striking, stud/studly, stunning, sublime, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, symmetrical

taking, tantalizing, tasty, teasing, telegenic, tempting, terrific, the Graces, tidy, tight, tip-top, toothsome, top/topping top-flight, top-notch, top-of-the-line, top-shelf, trim

undefaced, unsoiled, unspotted, unsurpassed

Venus,

well-favored, well-formed, well-made, winning, wizard (mostly British), wonderful

yummy

zingy




And I leave you with, "White Bird," by It's a Beautiful Day, a group from the late sixties. I think they were ahead of their time. 

Alternatives

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. 

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

Today's word is:  BAD


BAD has been around since 1200 AD.  If you want to learn more about BAD check out it's history HERE. There are many different ways or senses in which we use BAD. As in feeling ill, "I feel bad." Or having an intuitive sense, "I have a bad feeling about this." Or in feeling regretful, "I feel bad about hitting my brother." And that's just three ways we use the word. To really confuse things, BAD has also  taken on the meaning of something being really cool or nice.  "Bad jacket Bro!" Maybe in a couple of hundred years the meaning will flip entirely, just like NICE did, a word that once meant wanton or dissolute.

This a huge list of possible synonyms and I didn't get them all! 

abominable, abysmal, addled, adverse, ailing, amiss, apologetic, atrocious, awful

banned, barred, base, bastard, beastly, bilious, bitchin’, bitter, black, blah, blue, bottom out, brokenhearted, brutal, bum/bummer, bush, bush-league

careless, cast down, cheap, cheesy, coarse, common, condemned, conscience-stricken,

contemptible, contrite, corked/corky, corrupt, counterfeit, crappy, crestfallen, criminal, cruddy, cruel, crummy, cursed, cut-rate

damnable, dark, debased, debauched, decayed, decomposed, defective, deficient, defiling

degenerate, dejected, delinquent, deplorable, depraved, depressed, despicable, despondent, detestable, diddly, dirty, disagreeable, disastrous, disconsolate, discouraged/discouraging, diseased, disobedient, displeasing, disreputable, dissatisfactory, dissolute, distressed/distressing, doleful, down, down in the mouth, downcast, downer, downhearted, dreadful, droopy

egregious, errant, erring, erroneous, evil, evil-minded, execrable

fake, fallacious, fallen faulty, fearful, flagrant, flawed, forbidden, forlorn, foul, frightful

garbage, ghastly, gloomy, glum, gnarly, godawful, grave, grim, grody, gross, grungy, guilty

hangdog, hard, harsh, hateful, heartbroken, heartsick, heartsore, heavyhearted hellish,

hideous, hopeless, horrendous, horrid

icky, ignoble, ill, ill-behaved, illegal, immoral, imperfect, in pain, inadequate, incompetent, inconsolable, incorrect, infamous, inferior, infernal, iniquitous,insufficient, intense, interdicted

joyless, junky,

lame, lamentable, lousy, low, low-grade, low-rent, low-spirited

mean, mediocre, melancholic/melancholy, misbehaving, mischievous, miscreant, miserable, moldy, mournful, nasty, naughty, nefarious, negative, not good, noxious

odious, of poor quality, off, outlawed

painful, paltry, pathetic, pernicious, pestilential, phony, poor, punk, putrefied, putrid

rancid, raunchy, regretful, remorseful, reprehensible, reprobate, rotten, rough, rubbishy

sad/saddened, scanty, scurrilous, seamy, second-rate, serious, severe, shabby, sham, shitty, shoddy, sick, sinful, sleazy, slipshod, snide, sordid, sorrowful, sorry, sour, spoiled

stale, stinking/stinky, suboptimal, subpar, substandard, sucky, synthetic

terrible, the pits, tough, trashy, troubled/troubling

ugly, unacceptable, unclean, uncongenial, uncool, unethical, unfavorable, unfortunate, ungodly, unhappy, unhealthy, unlawful, unloving, unpalatable, unpleasant, unpleasing, unrighteous, unruly, unsatisfactory unsavory, unskilled, unspeakable, unsuitable, unwelcome, unwell, unwholesome, upset, useless

valueless, vexing, vicious, vile, villainous, vulgar

wacked/wacky, wanting, wicked, woebegone, woeful, worthless, wretched, wrong

yucky

Just to make it interesting here are some overused phrases...

bad news

bad seed

bad egg

bad dog

bad blood

bad hair day

bad call

And of course... Bad to the Bone. Do you have a favorite bad ass word?

Alternatives for Awfully Awful

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. 

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

Today's word is Awfully/Awful.

Considering that awful means full of awe, inspiring I'll first give you a short list of  synonyms that are related to that meaning. Then we'll get into the good stuff. Those ugly, nasty, obnoxious words we all like to use.

amazing, astonishing, awesome

eye-opening,

fabulous,

miraculous,

portentous, prodigious,

staggering, stunning, stupendous, sublime, surprising,

wonderful, wondrous

Now for the good stuff.

"In that terrible fight to the death, I managed to stab the fearsome, nauseating, nightmarish, monster in the eye with my plastic bayonet. When its noxious acid blood spurted all over us, I thought we were goners. It was vile I tell you, vile."

abhorrent, abominable, abysmal, alarming, appalling, atrocious

barbarous, blood-curdling, brackish

deplorable, depressing, despicable, detestable, dire, disgusting, distasteful, distressing, disturbing, dread, dreadful

evil

fearful, fearsome, forbidding, foul, frightful, from hell, fulsome

ghastly, ghoulish, godawful, grim, grisly, grody, gross, grotesque, gruesome,

grungy, gut-wrenching

hair-raising, harrowing, hateful, heart-stopping, heinous ,hellacious, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrifying

loathsome, lousy, lurid

macabre, miserable, monstrous

nasty, nauseating, nauseous, nightmarish, noisome, noxious

objectionable, obnoxious, obscene, odious, offensive, off-putting,

painful

rancid, raunchy, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, revolting

scandalous, scary, shake in one’s shoes, shake/tremble like a leaf, shocking, sick, sickening, sickish, sickly, stinking

terrible

ugly, uncivilized, undesirable, ungodly, unhealthy, unholy, unpleasant, unsavory, unsightly, unspeakable, unwanted, unwelcomed, unwholesome, upsetting

vile

Got a favorite awful word?

Alternatives for Awesome

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. 

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

Today's word is: Awesome!



If you think amaze/amazing had a lot of alternative possibilities, get a load of AWESOME. It's... ELECTRIFYING!




A-1, agog, alarming, alluring, amazing, animating, A-OK,  astonishing, astound/astounding, attracting/attractive, awe-inspiring

bang-up, banner, beautiful, beguiling, bewitching, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny/bonnie, boss, brag, brave, breathtaking, bully, bumper

capital, captivating, charming, choice, classic, confound, conspicuous, cool, cool beans, corking, crackerjack, cracking,

dandy, daze, dazzle, Dear me!, divine, dreadful, dumbfound, dynamite

electrify/electrifying, enchanting, energizing, enlightening, enlivening, entertaining, enthralling, exalted, excellent, exceptional, exciting, extraordinary, eye-opening

fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous, fantastic, far out, fascinating, fearful, fearsome, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, formidable, four-star, frantic, frightening, frontline

galvanizing, gangbusters, gape, gilt-edged, gone, grand, great, groovy

hairy, Heavens!, Heavens to Betsy!, heavenly, high-class, hold one’s breath, horrible/horrifying hot, hype

immense, impressive, imposing, impressive, incomprehensible, inconceivable, incredible, Indeed!, interesting, intimidating, invigorating

jim-dandy

keen

Lo and behold!, Lo!, look blank, lovely

majestic, magnificent, marvelous, mean, mind-bending, mind-blowing, mind-boggling, miraculous, monstrous, moving

neat, neato, nervous, niffy, noble, not believe one’s eye/ears/senses, notable, noticeable, number one, numero uno

out-of-sight, outstanding, overwhelming

par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat, phenomenal, portentous, prime, primo, prize, prizewinning, prodigious 

radical, rare, real gone, Really!, redouble, remarkable, righteous

sensational, shocking, singular, slick, smashing, something else, spectacular, splendid, staggering, stand aghast, stand in awe of, stellar, sterling, stimulating, strike dumb, strike with wonder/awe, striking, stun/stunning, stupefaction, stupefy/stupefying/stupendous, stupor, sublime, super, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, Surely!, surprise/surprising, swell

take one’s breath away, terrible, terrific, terrifying, the bees knees, tip-top, top-flight,

top-hat, top-notch, top-of-the-line, topping, top-shelf, tremendous, turn up one’s eyes

unbelievable, uncommon, unimaginable, unique, unsurpassed, unthinkable, unusual, unwonted

wizard, wonderful, wonder-working, wondrous

zero cool, Zounds!

                                                                                                                      

Alternatives for Anxious/Anxiously

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. 

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.


 Today's word is:Anxious/Anxiously

As might be expected, there is long list of possible alternatives, and I'm not entirely sure I have them all. I'll try to be anxious. To aid in reading them, I've put a line space between the letter groups.

aflutter, afraid, aggrieved, aghast, agitated, agog, alarm, angst, annoyance, anticipation,

ants in the pants, antsy, apprehension, ardent, athirst, atwitter, avid

basket case,  bothered/botheration, breathless, bugged, butterflies

care/careful, choked, clutched, cold sweat, concerned, consternation, crazy,

creeped out/creepy

desirous, discontent, disquieted, distraught, distressed/distressful, disturbed/disturbing,

dithery, dread/dreading

eager, edgy, enthused, excited, expectancy/expectant 

falter, fear/fearful, fidgety, flighty, flustered, fluttery, foreboding, fraught, freaked/freaked-out, fretful/fretfulness/fretting, fuss

geeked, goose bumps, goosey, gung-ho,

hacked, hairy, heartquake, heart-sinking, heebie-jeebies, hepped-up, hesitant, het up, high-strung, hinky, hold one’s breath, hopped-up, hot, hot and bothered, hung up, hungry, hyper, hypertense

ill at ease, impatient,  in a state, in a tizzy, in suspense, insecure, intent, irritation, itch/itching

jitters/jittery, juiced, jumps/jumpy

keen

misery, misgiving, mistrust

nail-biting, needles, nerve-racking/wracking, nervous/nervousness/nervy,

neurotic, nuts

obsessed, on edge, on pins and needles, on tenderhooks, overwrought

panic, perturbed, preoccupied, pumped

qualmish, qualmy, queasy/queazy

raring, restless, restless,

scared, shake/shaking/shaky, shivers/shivery, shook up, shot to pieces, sit upon thorns, skittish, solicitous/solicitude, spooked/spooky, stewing, stoked, strung out, suffering, suspense, sweat, sweating bullets

taut, tense, the all overs, thirsty, trembling, trouble/troubled/troubling, twitchy, twittered

uncertainty, undone, unease/uneasiness/uneasy, unglued, unnerved, unnerving, unquiet, unsettling, unstrung, upset, uptight

vexation of spirit, vexed, voracious

watchful, wigged out, wild, willies, wired, worried sick, worry/worrisome/worriment, wrech

yearning

Because I can't leave you, my faithful Random Readers, feeling all panicked  and wired with the hyper willies, I thought I offer up this bit of comic relief.

Do you over use anxious? Do you have a favorite word or phrase to use in its place? Are you an anxious person?

Alternatives for Amaze/Amazing

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.






Today's word is:  Amazing



It is inconceivable how many other words and phrases there are that can be used instead of amaze or amazing. 


Have fun!

agape, aghast, agog, alarming, astonishing, awesome,

bewildering, blind-siding, blow away, blow one’s mind, bowl over, burst,

confounding, cool,

daze, dazzling, drop from the clouds, dumbfounding,

electrifying, extraordinary, eye-opening,

fabulous, far out, fascinating, flabbergasting, flash,

give one goose bumps,

impress/impressive, inconceivable, incredible

jarring, jaw-dropping, jolting,

make one’s hair stand on end, marvelous, miraculous,

not believe one’s ears/eyes/sense,

open mouthed, out of the blue,

perplexing, petrifying, portentous, prodigious,

remarkable,

shocking, spellbound, staggering, startling, strike dumb, striking, stunning, stupefying, stupendous, sublime, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, surprising,

take one’s breath away, thunderbolt, touching, turn up

unbelievable, unheard of,

wonderful, wondrous

Fascinating, isn't it?

Say it enough times and it starts to sound... funny. Just how did those particular letters and syllables get combined to form a word that means what it does?

What's your favorite alternative for amazing?

Alternatives for Always

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. Depending on how you use the word, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

Today's word is:  Always

Always, a word we love to hate. We always over-use it.

Early in our marriage my husband and I made a point to eliminate certain words that can trigger unwanted reactions.

Never and Always were at the top of the list. I'm sure you've had those "You always," and "You never," kind of statements thrown at you in the course of your life. And of course when used in that context they just aren't true.


Although we can't eliminate it entirely (even the irritating always has its place) we can certainly try to cut back on its use.

So here are some alternatives. If nothing else these suggestions may spur you on to think of you own way to replace the dreaded word.

at every turn, at no time,

consistently, constantly,

deathless,

endless/endlessly, endure, eternal/eternally, ever, everlastingly, ever-living, evermore,

for all ages, for keeps, forever, forever and a day, forever and ever, forevermore,

go on and on,

have no end,

immortal, imperishable, in perpetuity, invariably,

last forever,

never, never-dying,  never-ending, never-fading, night and day,

perpetually,

regularly, repeatedly,

till blue in the face, till doomsday, till hell freezes over, till the cows come home, to the crack of doom, to the end of time, to the last “syllable of recorded time” (from Macbeth)

unceasingly, undying, unfading, unfailingly,

without end, without exception

So, are you guilty of having accused someone of ALWAYS or NEVER doing something? Be honest. 

Alternatives for Although

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words. 

Today's word is:  


Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful, would contain no one able to wonder at that beauty.

Steven Hawking.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

Helen Keller


What's right about America is that although we have a mess of problems, we have great capacity - intellect and resources - to do some thing about them. Henry Ford


Still and all, why bother? Here's my answer. Many people need desperately to receive this message: I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone. Kurt Vonnegut

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing, although, although is wonderfully handy.

admitting, admitting that, after all, after all is said and done, again, albeit, all the same, at all events, at any rate

be it that, be that as it may, but

despite, despite all, despite everything, despite the fact

even, even if, even so, even supposing

for all that

granting, granting all this, granting that

howbeit, however, however that may be

in any case, in any event, in spite of

just the same

much as

nonetheless, notwithstanding

on the other hand

rather

still, supposing, supposing that

taking one thing with another, though

when, whereas, while

yet

Do you have a favorite "although" quote?