The A to Z of words - plainenglish.co.uk

1 Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsThe A to Z ofalternativewords Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsCalling all writersThis guide gives hundreds of plain English alternatives to the pompous words and phrasesthat litter official writing. On its own the guide won t teach you how to write in plain s more to it than just replacing hard words with easy words , and many of thesealternatives won t work in every situation. But it will help if you want to get rid of words like notwithstanding , expeditiously and phrases like in the majority of instances and at thismoment in time . And using everyday words is an important first step towards English Campaign owns the copyright on this guide. You must not copy it withoutgetting our permission first. You can download your own copy from our website( ).Using the A to ZIf you find yourself about to write, type or dictate a word you wouldn t use in every dayconversation, look it up in the A to Z.

2 You should find a simpler alternative. Often there willbe a choice of several words . You need to pick the one that best fits what you are trying tosay. Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsA(an) absence ofno, noneabundanceenough, plenty, a lot (or say how many)accede toallow, agree toacceleratespeed upaccentuatestressaccommodationwhere you live, homeaccompanyingwithaccomplishdo, finishaccording to our recordsour records showaccordinglyin line with this, soacknowledgethank you foracquaint yourself withfind out about, readacquiesceagreeacquirebuy, getadditionalextra, moreadjacentnext toadjustmentchange, alterationadmissibleallowed, acceptableadvantageoususeful, helpfuladvisetell, say (unless you are giving advice)affixadd, write, fasten, stick on, fix toafford an opportunitylet, allowaffordedgivenaforesaidthis, earlier in this documentaggregatetotalalignedlined up, in linealleviateease, reduce Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsallocatedivide, share, add, givealong the lines oflike, as inalternativechoice, otheralternativelyor, on the other handameliorateimprove, helpamendmentchangeanticipateexpectappar entclear, plain, obvious, seemingapplicant (the)youapplicationuseappreciablelarge, greatappriseinform, tellappropriateproper, right, suitableappropriate tosuitable forapproximatelyabout, roughlyas a consequence ofbecauseas of the date offromas regardsabout, on the subject ofascertainfind outassemblebuild, gather, put togetherassistancehelpat an early datesoon (or say when)at its discretioncan, may (or edit out)at the momentnow (or edit out)at the present timenow (or edit out)

3 Attempttryattendcome to, go to, be atattributable todue to, because of Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsauthoriseallow, letauthorityright, power, may (as in have the authorityto )axiomaticobvious, goes without saying Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsBbelatedlatebeneficialhelpful, usefulbestowgive, awardbreachbreakby means ofby Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsCcalculatework out, decideceasefinish, stop, endcircumventget round, avoid, skirt, circleclarificationexplanation, helpcombinemixcombinedtogethercommencest art, begincommunicatetalk, write, telephone (be specific)competentable, cancompilemake, collectcompletefill in, finishcompletionendcomply withkeep to, meetcomponentpartcomprisemake up, include(it is) compulsory(you) mustconcealhideconcerningabout, onconclusionendconcuragreeconditionrulec onsequentlysoconsiderablegreat, importantconstitutemake up, formconstrueinterpretconsulttalk to, meet, ask Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsconsumptionamount usedcontemplatethink aboutcontrary toagainst, despitecorrectput rightcorrespondwritecosts the sum ofcostscounteragainstcourteouspolitecumu lativeadded up, added togethercurrentlynow (or edit out)

4 Customaryusual, normal Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsDdeducttake off, take awaydeem to betreat asdeferput off, delaydeficiencylack ofdeletecross outdemonstrateshow, provedenoteshowdepictshowdesignatepoint out, show, namedesirewish, wantdespatch or dispatchsend, postdespite the fact thatthough, althoughdeterminedecide, work out, set, enddetrimentalharmful, damagingdifficultiesproblemsdiminishless en, reducedisbursepay, pay outdischargecarry outdisclosetell, showdisconnectcut off, unplugdiscontinuestop, enddiscreteseparatediscusstalk aboutdisseminatespreaddocumentationpaper s, documentsdomiciled inliving in Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsdominantmaindue to the fact ofbecause, asdurationtime, lifeduring which timewhiledwellinghome Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsEeconomicalcheap, good valueeligibleallowed, qualifiedelucidateexplain, make clearemphasisestressempowerallow, letenableallowenclosedinside, with(please find)

5 EnclosedI encloseencountermeetendeavourtryenquirea skenquiryquestionensuremake sureentitlementrightenvisageexpect, imagineequivalentequal, the sameerroneouswrongestablishshow, find out, set upevaluatetest, checkevinceshow, proveex officiobecause of his or her positionexceptionallyonly when, in this caseexcessivetoo many, too muchexcludeleave outexcludingapart from, exceptexclusivelyonly Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsexempt fromfree fromexpeditehurry, speed upexpeditiouslyas soon as possible, quicklyexpenditurespendingexpirerun outextantcurrent, in forceextremitylimit Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsFfabricatemake, make upfacilitatehelp, make possiblefactorreasonfailure toif you do notfinaliseend, finishfollowingafterfor the duration ofduring, whilefor the purpose ofto, forfor the reason thatbecauseformulateplan, deviseforthwithnow, at onceforwardsendfrequentlyoftenfurnishgiv efurther toafter, followingfurthermorethen, also, and Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsGgenerateproduce, give, makegive consideration toconsider, think aboutgrantgive Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsHhenceforthfrom now on, from todayherebynow, by this (or edit out)hereinhere (or edit out)hereinafterafter this (or edit out)hereofof thisheretoto thisheretoforeuntil now, previouslyhereunderbelowherewithwith this (or edit out)hithertountil nowhold in abeyancewait, postponehope and trusthope, trust (but not both) Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsIif and whenif, when (but not both)illustrateshow, explainimmediatelyat once, nowimplementcarry out, doimplysuggest, hint atin a number of casessome (or say how many)in accordance withas under, in line with, because ofin addition (to)

6 And, as well as, alsoin advancebeforein case ofifin conjunction withand, within connection withfor, aboutin consequencebecause, as a resultin excess ofmore thanin lieu ofinstead ofin order thatso thatin receipt ofget, have, receivein relation toaboutin respect ofabout, forin the absence ofwithoutin the course ofwhile, duringin the event of/thatifin the majority of instancesmost, mostlyin the near futuresoonin the neighbourhood ofabout, aroundin view of the fact thatas, because Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsinappropriatewrong, unsuitableinceptionstart, beginningincorporatingwhich includesincurredhave to pay, oweindicateshow, suggestinformtellinitiallyat firstinitiatebegin, startinsertput ininstancescasesintend towillintimatesay, hintirrespective ofdespite, even ifis in accordance withagrees with, followsis of the opinionthinksissuegive, sendit is known thatI/we know that Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsJjeopardiserisk, threaten Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsL(a) large number ofmany, most (or say how many)(to) liaise withto meet with, to discuss with, to work with(whichever is more descriptive)localityplace, arealocatefind, put Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsMmagnitudesize(it is) mandatory(you) mustmannerwaymanufacturemakemarginalsmal l, slightmaterialrelevantmaterialisehappen, occurmay in the futuremay, might, couldmerchandisegoodsmislaylosemodificat ionchangemoreoverand, also, as well Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsNnegligiblevery smallneverthelessbut, however, even sonotifytell, let us/you knownotwithstandingeven if, despite, still, yetnumerousmany (or say how many) Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsoobjectiveaim, goal(it is)

7 Obligatory(you) mustobtainget, receiveoccasioned bycaused by, because ofon behalf offoron numerous occasionsoftenon receipt ofwhen we/you geton requestif you askon the grounds thatbecauseon the occasion thatwhen, ifoperatework, runoptimumbest, idealoptionchoiceordinarilynormally, usuallyotherwiseoroutstandingunpaidowing tobecause of Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsp(a) percentage ofsome (or say what percentage)partiallypartlyparticipatejoi n in, take partparticularsdetails, factsper annuma yearperformdopermissibleallowedpermitlet , allowpersonnelpeople, staffpersonspeople, anyoneperuseread, read carefully, look atplaceputpossesshave, ownpossessionsbelongingspracticallyalmos t, nearlypredominantmainprescribeset, fixpreservekeep, protectpreviousearlier, before, lastprincipalmainprior tobeforeproceedgo aheadprocureget, obtain, arrangeprofusion ofplenty, too many (or say how many)(to) progress something(replace with a more precise phrase sayingwhat you are doing) Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsprohibitban, stopprojectedestimatedprolongedlongpromp tlyquickly, at oncepromulgateadvertise, announceproportionpartprovidegiveprovide d thatif, as long asprovisionsrules, termsproximitycloseness, nearnesspurchasebuypursuant tounder, because of, in line with Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsQqualify forcan get, be able to get Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsRreconsiderthink again about, look again atreducecutreductioncutreferred to ascalledrefer totalk about, mention(have)

8 Regard totake into accountregardingabout, onregulationrulereimburserepay, pay backreiteraterepeat, restaterelating toaboutremainstayremainderthe rest, what is leftremittancepaymentremunerationpay, wages, salaryrendermake, give, sendrepresentshow, stand for, berequestask, questionrequireneed, want, forcerequirementsneeds, rulesresideliveresidencehome, where you liverestrictionlimitretainkeepreviewlook at (again)revisednew, changed Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsSsaid/such/samethe, this, thatscrutiniseread (look at) carefullyselectchoosesettlepaysimilarlya lso, in the same waysolelyonlyspecifiedgiven, written, setstatesay, tell us, write downstatutorylegal, by lawsubject todepending on, under, keeping tosubmitsend, givesubsequent to/uponaftersubsequentlylatersubstantial large, great, a lot ofsubstantiallymore or lesssufficientenoughsupplementgo with, add tosupplementaryextra, moresupplygive, sell, delivery Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsT(the)

9 Tenantyouterminatestop, endthat being the caseif sothe question as to whetherwhetherthereafterthen, afterwardstherebyby that, because of thatthereinin that, therethereofof thattheretoto thatthusso, thereforeto dateso far, up to nowto the extent thatif, whentransferchange, movetransmitsend Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsUultimatelyin the end, finallyunavailabilitylack ofundernotedthe followingundersignedI, weundertakeagree, promise, douniformsame, similarunilateralone-sided, one-wayunoccupiedemptyuntil such timeuntilutilisationuseutiliseuse Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsVvariationchangevirtuallyalmost (or edit out)visualisesee, predict Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsWways and meanswayswe have pleasure inwe are glad towhatsoeverwhatever, what, anywhensoeverwhenwhereasbutwhether or notwhetherwith a view toto, so thatwith effect fromfromwith reference toaboutwith regard toabout, forwith respect toabout, forwith the minimum of delayquickly (or say when) Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsYyou are requestedpleaseyour attention is drawnplease see, please note Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsZzonearea, region Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsWords and phrases to avoidThe words and phrases below often crop up in letters and reports.

10 Often you canremove them from a sentence without changing the meaning or the tone. In otherwords, they add nothing to the message. Try leaving them out of your writing. You llfind your sentences survive and succeed without them. a total of absolutely abundantly actually all things being equal as a matter of fact as far as I am concerned at the end of the day at this moment in time basically current currently during the period from each and every one existing extremely I am of the opinion that I would like to say I would like to take this opportunity to in due course in the end in the final analysis in this connection in total in view of the fact that it should be understood last but not least obviously of course other things being equal quite really really quite regarding the (noun), it was the fact of the matter is the month(s) of to all intents and purposes to one s own mind very Plain English Campaign 2001 The A to Z of alternative wordsTraining from Plain English CampaignWe offer training courses to teach you how to design and write your documents in plainEnglish.