Word Choice: Not Just Any Word Will Do

On an ordinary day in the fourth grade, a cart of books was rolled into my classroom by an assistant teacher who looked more enthusiastic than she was. Some of the books looked slightly different, but each volume performed the same function.

Students were given a thesaurus and a worksheet. We were given the task of looking up and replacing words in sentences with synonyms.

Why were we doing this?

We could do better than “walk,” “talk,” and “listen.”

We could “stroll,” “lecture,” and “observe.”

In this situation, we come away with two key truths. 

1. As writers, we should strive to use the best possible word that is the most fitting to the given situation.

2. Sometimes, but not always, the best possible word is the simplest. 
   

In other words, don’t forget the two C’s: Context and Connotation. For the purposes of this exercise, we will mostly be using verbs, though adjectives can be used as well. 

Word Choice in Context

The context of a word refers to what is happening around it: how it exists in a setting and how it relates to a person or thing. Consider this line from Marisha Pessl’s Night Film:

“Just when you think you’ve hit rock bottom, you realize you’re standing on another trapdoor.”

In this line, Pessl is trying to call forth a state of mind starting with two familiar phrases: “Just when you think…” and “...hit rock bottom.” Her next step was to extend the familiar image, thus “standing” on the trapdoor. 

She didn't need more complex verbs than that. The context supports them.

Now, consider this sample sentence:

“Beatrice angrily took her diary from her younger brother, who thought he was holding it out of her reach.” 

While “thought” and “holding” are appropriate verbs for the context that this sentence is creating, “took” doesn’t seem to fit. We need a word that matches what someone like Beatrice, who is angry, would do in this scenario. 

“Beatrice angrily snatched her diary from her younger brother, who thought he was holding it out of her reach.”

Rather than simply take back her diary, to illustrate the setting and mood, Beatrice would have angrily “snatched” it back.

Delivering the Best Connotation

The connotation of a word refers to the emotions it conveys or, generally, the things that it implies. Consider this line from Gail Carson Levine’s The Two Princesses of Bamarre.  

“I was no hero. The dearest wishes of my heart were for safety and tranquility. The world was a perilous place, wrong for the likes of me.”

The main character gives us her values, but she doesn’t just call them “values.” They are instead the “dearest wishes of [her] heart,” which gives readers a better sense of the novel's emotional stakes. 

The world is not just “dangerous” because danger is still something that can be escaped. Instead, the world is “perilous,” something fatal. 

Then, we de-escalate because there are people who can exist in a world that is perilous, but to her, she cannot. The world is “wrong” for the likes of her. 

Now, consider this sample sentence:

“The new hire was brought in to change a process that no longer works for our company.” 

It would be perfectly understandable to use "change" in this sentence. However, the word on its own is broad, containing several implications. 

“The new hire was brought in to transform a process that no longer works for our company.” 

Now, readers can better understand why another person had to be hired. If a process that was working for a company for a long time had to be re-done from the ground up, the implications of “transform” are both clear and hopeful for the future of the company. 

Exercises

1. Take out a book that you’ve read before, ideally something you remember well, and turn to a random page. Write or type up to three sentences, emphasizing (underlining, highlighting, what have you) the verbs and the adjectives. Take notes, giving reasons why the author might have used those particular word at that particular time. Maybe you would have used a different word. If so, note that as well, showing why you would make that choice.
   

2. Take a sample from something you’re writing or something you’ve written before, up to a paragraph. What is the purpose of that sample? Is it to give information or context? Is it to describe an action or person? Then, emphasize (underline, highlight, what have you) both the verbs and the adjectives in that paragraph. For the purpose of this exercise, change at least two verbs and two adjectives, keeping the purpose at the forefront of your mind. What is different? Maybe changing your verbs and adjectives reinforces a choice you’ve already made, but maybe there are words you can amplify. Describe your thought process.