Transcription
Do you find you use the same words over and over again? To reach a high level of English fluency for your IELTS, job interviews, meetings, or simply your daily life, you need a broad range of vocabulary. One of the easiest ways to quickly improve your English level is to learn synonyms. Synonyms are simply different words that have the same or similar meanings. Today you'll learn 80 synonyms you can start using today.
Welcome back to JForrest English. Of course, I'm Jennifer. Now, let's get started. In this lesson, you'll see a common word you may be familiar with, like show. And then you'll learn a synonym that is more formal and more professional, like demonstrate. You can specifically use these synonyms in more formal and professional situations. Now, often words have different meanings. So this synonym is used when displaying or providing something, often in presentations or studies, which is commonly talked about in the workplace and on your IELTS. So, of course, you can say the data clearly showed the trend, but to use the synonym, the data clearly demonstrated the trend. It instantly sounds more professional. And learning these synonyms will also help you understand natives. Don't worry about taking these notes because I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF. You can find the link in the description. Show me how it graphically demonstrates what happened.
Now, let's review mostly and predominantly. Predominantly. This is used to describe something that happens or exists in most cases and is common in academic and professional contexts. You can say the area is mostly residential. So the largest part or the area is predominantly residential. And I hope you're thinking, I predominantly watch JForest English lessons. Of course, you watch others, but mine make up the most, the largest part. So, if that's true, put "That's right." "That's right." Put "That's right" in the comments.
Now, let's review improve and enhance. This is used to make something better, especially design, quality, or experience. For example, they improve the design of the product. They enhanced the design of the product. It instantly sounds more polished. My day is improving. We should enhance this.
Instead of saying think about, you can use consider. And of course, this is used when reflecting on options thoughtfully. So, you're giving a lot of thought. You can use this as advice. You should think about all the options before accepting the job. For example, you should consider, you should consider all the options. So maybe you're learning the synonym and the common word at the exact time in this lesson. And that's amazing.
So, just like before, let's review say and state. But this is used when expressing something verbally or in writing. For example, he said his opinion clearly. He stated his opinion clearly. You will hear the word state most commonly in written form. Dating, she would be in contact. She said she's fine.
Now let's review talk about and the synonym discuss. So, of course, this is used to have a conversation or explanation about something. Let's talk about the next steps. I say that every single day. But I can also say, and frequently do, let's discuss the next steps. So, to be honest, the common word is the one that I use more frequently. However, there are many times where I don't want to use a common word. I want to sound more advanced or professional. So having these synonyms in your vocabulary is so important.
Let's review live and reside. Do you know this one? Notice that pronunciation: reside. Zide, the voiced sound. Reside. This is, of course, used for where someone lives, but it's often used in a legal or official context. But you can simply say, he lives in a quiet neighborhood. And in an everyday context, he resides in a quiet neighborhood.
Let's review change and modify. Now, this is used while making a small or precise change. So, if I want to make it sound like the changes I made were smaller because I don't want to offend someone that I changed their design or document, I might say modify. So, you can say, the policy was changed last year. That's ambiguous. We don't know how big or small the changes were. The policy was modified last year. It sounds like small changes were made.
Reduce already sounds advanced, but you can also say minimize. Minimize. This is used when lowering something as much as possible. So, efforts were made to reduce the risk. Of course, you want to reduce the risk. Efforts were made to minimize the risk. To me, this sounds even smaller. Minimize the risk. Reducing swelling. I like to minimize risk.
Let's review. Stop and cease. Cease is used when ending an action, but is often in writing or commands. So, the police may tell you to cease something. Or a lawyer might tell you to cease something. But you can use it in everyday context and say, "The noise stopped suddenly." The noise ceased suddenly.
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Now let's continue with our lesson. Let's review try and attempt. Attempt is used when making an effort, especially a serious effort. So you can say, he tried to solve the puzzle. He attempted to solve the puzzle. To me, this sounds like he was more serious about it. The effort he put was stronger. He spent more time. He attempted to solve the puzzle. Maybe they tried and they couldn't. I didn't say that. You know, they make attempts.
Get better is the everyday word I use. If I want to sound a little more formal or professional, or if I'm discussing something with a medical provider, I might use recover instead, which is used when health or a specific condition improves. So, he got better quickly from the flu. So, "got" is the past simple of "get," of course. He recovered quickly from the flu. So the synonym is what a medical provider or a healthcare provider would use.
Now, the opposite of "get worse" and the opposite of the synonym "deteriorate." Deteriorate. So this is used when health or conditions decline. Her health got worse over time. To sound more official, professional, formal, her health deteriorated over time. It's gotten worse. Things are deteriorating.
Now you can use think carefully, or you can use contemplate. Contemplate. So this is used when deeply thinking about something. She thought carefully about moving abroad. She contemplated moving abroad. So to me, one, it sounds more formal, and two, it sounds like the thought behind it is more serious as well.
Instead of saying make better, you can use refine, which sounds refined. So this is used to improve something in detail or precision. The process was made better for efficiency. The process was refined for efficiency. So the details of the process were improved, changed, modified, and the reason was for efficiency. Like better answers. Bind it into carbon dust.
Get rid of is part of my daily vocabulary, but I also use eliminate as a synonym. And of course, this is used to remove something unwanted and to permanently remove something. So they got rid of wasteful spending. So "got" is the past simple of "get." Now, because this sounds more formal, maybe a government got rid of wasteful spending, it would sound more professional to use the word eliminate and say they eliminated wasteful spending. But I would get rid of old clothes because that is the more casual, everyday, in a general context.
Let's review check and verify. So this is used when confirming something, often in technical or official context. Please check your email address, but please verify your email address. You're checking it to make sure it's correct. So "check" is more ambiguous, and then "verify" is specific. You're checking for a specific purpose to make sure there are no spelling mistakes or that it's the most recent email address.
Now, instead of use up, you can use deplete. And this is an excellent word to have in your vocabulary, especially in the context of resources and when they're used completely. So this can be with environment, energy, or even money. The project used up their budget. So used completely. There's no budget available. The project depleted their budget.
You may know this one from all your police dramas on TV. Instead of tell the truth, you can use confess. Confess. And this is used when admitting something, often related to guilt or honesty. So he told the truth about the mistake. He confessed to the mistake. So it sounds like he was forced to do it, maybe internally because of guilt, or externally because of threat of punishment. He confessed to the mistake. Of course, you hear that on TV a lot.
Now, instead of big, you can use significant. But this is used to describe something important, large in size, or with a strong effect, not the size of something. So this shirt, I could say, is big on me. I wouldn't say this shirt is significant on me. It doesn't work like that. But you can say, the study showed a big increase in temperature. The study showed a significant increase in temperature. So the amount of the increase is large. So you can use significant. We found significant differences. There's a big difference.
And let's review small and minor. This is used for something not very important or very small in significance. Again, not a t-shirt. So you might say, there was a small delay in the delivery, but "small" in terms of the significance or importance. There was a minor delay in the delivery.
You already know this one. Instead of great, you can say excellent. But it's a reminder to use it because even myself, although I know many synonyms for great, I still use great most of the time. So, as a reminder that we can use other words when we want to sound more formal, more professional, or simply just express a broader range of vocabulary. So, of course, this describes a higher quality or something stronger. He gave a great presentation at the conference. Make that sound a little stronger. She gave an excellent presentation at the conference. Now, this is a synonym, but "excellent" to me does sound better than "great." So, just keep that in mind that they're similar.
And the opposite, we could say bad and detrimental. But not "bad" in the sense of he gave a bad presentation. "Bad" to describe something as harmful, and this is often used with health or policy related. So for health, smoking has bad effects on health. "Bad" is very common. To sound more advanced, you should absolutely say smoking has detrimental effects on health. Using that in a presentation, job interview, IELTS, or daily life will make you sound very advanced.
Now, instead of saying something is easy, you can say it's effortless. So, of course, this is used when something requires little effort or it just feels natural. The transition was easy. So maybe the transition to a new job or from one strategy to another. The transition was easy. The transition was effortless. Effortless. Well, that was easy. Effective, but effortless.
Instead of hard, describe something as challenging. So, of course, this is used when something is difficult but positive or encouraging. For example, climbing the mountain was a hard task. That sounds more negative. It sounds like a lot of effort and in a negative way. But if I say, climbing the mountain was a challenging task, it sounds hard. Yes, because challenging is not easy. But we use it in a more positive way. It was challenging, and I enjoyed the challenge.
Instead of look at, you can use observe. So this is used when watching carefully and is often used in science or analysis. Scientists looked at the behavior of the animals. It sounds a lot more professional and also technical and precise to say scientists observed the behavior of the animals.
Now let's review show up and appear. This is used when something becomes visible or present. For example, a rainbow showed up in the sky. To sound more professional, a rainbow appeared in the sky. But I would personally use "show up" for people appearing because it sounds more natural.
Now, let's review go and proceed. This is used when continuing or moving forward, often in instructions. So, in an instruction, someone might say or write, "Please go to the next page." It sounds more professional to say, "Please proceed to the next page."
Let's review raise and elevate. So, this is used when lifting or increasing something, and sometimes it's used metaphorically. So, for example, he raised the discussion to a new level. So, he elevated the discussion to a new level. In this context, "elevated" sounds like a very professional and advanced choice.
Now, let's review fall and decline. So, this is used when something decreases, often in reports. So, there was a sharp fall in demand. There was a sharp decline in demand. You'll see that in economic and financial news.
Instead of famous, you can say prominent. So this is used to describe someone or something well-known or important in a particular area. She is a famous author. She is a prominent author. But maybe it's in a specific area.
Instead of increased, you can use boost. Boost. So this is used when something gets bigger, and it implies a sharp or helpful increase. So marketing strategies increase the company's sales. So that was helpful. Marketing strategies boosted the company's sales.
Instead of need, you can use require when something is necessary. So most jobs need computer skills. Most jobs require computer skills. But remember, in a day-to-day context, "I need help." You don't need to say "I require help." So keep in mind when you use these synonyms.
Instead of ask, inquire. So this is when requesting information, and often in business or writing. She asked about the job opening. That's perfectly fine. She inquired about the job opening sounds more professional and formal.
Instead of work, operate in a specific context when something functions and is often technical or professional. So the system works smoothly in this context. "Work" isn't "I work every day." I wouldn't say "I operate every day," but the system operates smoothly. So "works" in the way it's supposed to.
Instead of end, you can say conclude. So this is when finishing something, common in reports or speeches. The meeting will end at noon. That sounds wonderful. It sounds what native speakers mostly use. But in a more formal context or certain context, you can say the meeting will conclude at noon. But I wouldn't ask my colleague, "When does the meeting conclude?" That sounds a little too formal in that context. But if I'm presenting, I might say, "Let's conclude after the next slide." That's the end. That concludes this meeting.
Instead of give, you can use provide when offering something. The teacher gave clear instructions. The teacher provided clear instructions.
Instead of keep, how about retain? So this is to hold or not lose something. Common in work or legal context. Employees may keep unused vacation days. But because this is more of a policy, a legal policy for the company, it sounds more professional to say employees may retain unused vacation days.
Instead of a lot, you can use frequently. So, to describe something happening many times or often. She goes to the gym a lot. I'm sure you use the word "a lot." "A lot." She frequently goes to the gym. But notice the placement there, right before the main verb. She frequently goes to the gym.
Instead of a long time, an extended time. So, this is used to describe a duration that lasts for a significant amount of time. They waited for a long time. They waited for an extended time.
Now, let's review help and assist. This synonym is used when supporting someone or making something easier. She helped her coworker finish the task. She assisted her coworker in finishing the task. Notice here the sentence structure is different because you assist someone in, and then the gerund or verb in -ing, in finishing the task. But if you simply use the noun, for example, "the task," you can say she helped her coworker with the task. She assisted her coworker with the task. And using "assisted" instantly sounds more advanced and professional. And learning these synonyms will help you understand natives. She helps me. If you can assist me with answers.
Now, let's review start and commence. This is used when beginning something formally or officially. You can say, "The event started at 9:00 a.m." Or to sound more advanced, the event commenced at 9:00 a.m. Of course, here this is a verb, so you have to understand the sentence structure and know when you need to conjugate the verb or understand what prepositions are used as well. So, you can use the lesson PDF to study the sentence structure. Now, you can use this in a more metaphorical way and say, "I commence my day by watching a JForce English lesson." That's how you start your day. If that's true, put "That's right." "That's right." Put "That's right" in the comments.
Now, let's review deal with and handle. So notice the everyday expression is a two-part, a phrasal verb, to deal with. But the more advanced synonym is just the verb to handle. And this is used when managing or taking care of a situation. For example, she deals with customer complaints. That is something that she's responsible for. She manages. So you can say she handles customer complaints to sound more advanced. She can handle herself. She's dealing with stuff.
Here's one that will really make you sound advanced. Think of and devise. Devise. And this is used when determining a plan or idea. He thought of a new marketing strategy. That's an everyday expression. I certainly use that every day. I only use the synonym when I want to sound more formal, professional, or advanced. He devised a new marketing strategy. I love that word, devise.
Let's review given and yield. This is used when stopping resistance or agreeing after initial opposition. So, you initially said no, but then you gave in and said yes. She finally gave in to their demands. So, maybe you're learning the regular verb at the same time. And that's great. The verb here is a phrasal verb, to give in to someone or something. Now, the synonym, she finally yielded to their demands. I never yielded, and he just gave in.
Let's review explain and clarify. So, you can use clarify when you're making something easier to understand or more precise. You're providing more details to your explanation. So, you can of course ask, "Could you explain the instructions?" But if you want the instructions to be more precise or more detailed, you can say, "Can you clarify the instructions?"
Let's review finish and finalize. This is used when completing something fully or making it officially complete. They finished the report yesterday. They finalized the report yesterday. It's only slightly different, but it makes a big impact.
Let's review modern and contemporary. Contemporary. This is used when describing something belonging to the present or recent times. So we can use this in style, in look, in appearance. For example, the house has a modern design. In real estate terminology, they often say the house has a contemporary design. And modern problems require modern solutions. Only contemporary art. Speaking of the house, let's review family and household. So you can use household when you're referring to people living together in one home. There are four people in her family. There are four people in her household. So yes, that can mean family, but it means family living in her house. So it's more precise than saying family.
Let's review boss and employer. I absolutely use the word employer when I want to sound more official. And this is used when referring to either the person or the company who hires and supervises you, or workers in general. She spoke to her boss about a raise. Absolutely, you can say that. But you may say, she spoke to her employer about a raise. It makes it sound more official, more technical. My employer wants a meeting. Best boss I ever had.
Let's review successful and I love this one. Fruitful. Fruitful. That's fun to say. Fruitful. You can use fruitful when describing an effort or outcome that brings good results. The meeting was successful. It brought good results. Maybe just we had a great discussion. The meeting was fruitful. Fruitful.
Now, let's review different and diverse. Diverse. This is used when describing variety or lack of sameness. This definitely applies to my students on this channel. You can say the students come from different backgrounds. Sound a little more advanced and say the students come from diverse backgrounds. A diverse portfolio. Different backgrounds, different sensibilities.
Same thing with experience and expertise. Oh, that word just instantly sounds more advanced. Expertise. This is used when referring to skill gained through practice or knowledge in a field. Of course, she has experience in project management. She has expertise in project management.
Let's review possible and feasible. I love this word, feasible. This is used when describing something that can be done or achieved. You can say it's possible to complete the project by Friday, or simply replace it with, it's feasible to complete the project by Friday. Notice that long sound, feasible.
Let's review choose and instantly sound more advanced with select. Select. This is used when picking from options, and often you would use select in more formal contexts. So you can choose any topic for your essay. To make it sound more official, you can select any topic for your essay.
Now let's review look for and seek. Seek is used when trying to find something, but usually something more official like resources or a strategy. You can say they're looking for new employees. But here, because employees represent resources, you can say they're seeking new employees.
Let's review. Show off, a phrasal verb, and exhibit. Exhibit. This is used when displaying something proudly. The artist showed off her work. The artist exhibited her work.
How about put off? and the more formal term postpone. So "put off" is the phrasal verb used in everyday speech. And then "postpone" sounds more official and formal. And this is used when delaying something to a later time. They put off the meeting until Monday. They postponed the meeting until Monday. Postpone the wedding. I kept putting it off.
Let's review. Look after and supervise. This is used when overseeing people or activities. She looks after the interns. That's our phrasal verb. She supervises the interns. That's our regular verb. That sounds more official.
Let's review. Find out, a phrasal verb, and discover. This is used when learning something new. I found out the reason for the delay. I discovered the reason for the delay.
Instead of fix, you can use repair. And of course, this is used when restoring something that's broken. He fixed the computer. He repaired the computer.
Let's review keep going and persist. This is used when continuing despite difficulty. She kept going even when it was hard. It's a very everyday expression. It sounds more advanced to say she persisted even when it was hard. And that's what you're doing with the English language.
Let's review get in touch. You can replace all three words with contact. And this is used when reaching out to someone. I'll get in touch with you soon. Keep that in your vocabulary. But if you want to sound more formal, I'll contact you soon.
Same thing with talk to, communicate with. You can use this when exchanging information or ideas. She talked to her manager about it. She communicated with her manager about it.
Look into is the phrasal verb that's very commonly used in daily speech. Investigate sounds more official and formal, and this is used when examining something closely. The company is looking into the problem. The company is investigating the problem.
Instead of find, you can use locate. And of course, when identifying where something is. She found her keys under the sofa. She located her keys under the sofa. That sounds more professional and perhaps more official.
Let's review more time. Or you can say an extension. So this synonym is used to formally request additional time to complete something. She needed more time to meet the deadline. She needed an extension to meet the deadline. So she formally requested more time. That's an extension. I need more time. I just need another extension. And instead of "she asked for an extension," you can say "she requested an extension." So "request" is used when formally asking for something.
Let's review go on and continue. So this is used to describe the length of something without stopping. So you see, our discussion went on for an hour. So the length of it, and there was no stopping, no pausing. Our discussion continued for an hour.
Instead of point out, a very common phrasal verb, you can use highlight. And this is used when drawing attention to something. She pointed out the key issue. She highlighted the key issue.
And instead of think over, you can say reflect on. And this is used when considering something carefully. He thought over the offer before replying. He reflected on the offer before replying.
Instead of work on, you can use strengthen. Strengthen. So this is used when improving or creating something. She's working on her presentation skills. So she's improving or creating that skill. She's strengthening her presentation skills.
Instead of throw away, you can sound more formal and say discard. So this is used when removing something officially and permanently. He threw away the old documents. But to sound more official, he discarded the old documents.
Let's review keep up and maintain. So this is used when continuing something consistently. Try to keep up your diet or your study routine. Try to maintain your diet or, of course, your study routine.
You can use review or you can use scrutinize. Scrutinize. I love that word, scrutinize. Use scrutinize when you're reviewing something very carefully, and it's to discover or judge information. So she reviewed the policy. She scrutinized the policy.
Instead of check out, you can use inspect. And this is when examining something carefully. The manager checked out the new project. So he, he looked at it, he tried it, he used it. Or the manager inspected the new product. It sounds more official and more in-depth.
Instead of talk with, you can use consult. And this is often used when seeking advice or expertise. You can certainly say, he talked with a doctor. He consulted a doctor. That sounds more official.
Instead of move forward, you can use advance. And this is used when progressing to the next stage. The team moved forward with the plan. The team advanced with the plan.
And instead of look back, you can use reflect. And this is when thinking about the past. She looked back on her childhood. She reflected on her childhood. So notice you need that preposition "on" when you specify the noun. She reflected on her childhood.
You can use make sure or ensure. Ensure. And this is when confirming something will happen. So please make sure the door is locked. Please ensure the door is locked. So they sound very similar. You're replacing two words, "make sure," with one, "ensure." Ensure. Amazing job. Now you have 80 synonyms in your vocabulary.
Do you want me to keep helping you improve your vocabulary? If you do, put "Let's go." "Let's go." Put "Let's go" in the comments. And of course, make sure you like this lesson, share it with your friends, and subscribe so you're notified every time I post a new lesson. And you can get this free speaking guide where I share six tips on how to speak English fluently and confidently. You can click here to download it or look for the link in the description. And here's another lesson I know you'll love. Watch it now.