The closest alternatives to very are extremely, incredibly, really, highly, and particularly, though each is limited to certain kinds of adjectives. The stronger fix is usually to delete very and upgrade the word after it: very tired becomes exhausted, very important becomes crucial. Which approach fits depends on whether the adjective has a stronger form waiting for you.
33 synonyms for “very”
Intensifiers are not interchangeable. Each group below attaches to a different kind of adjective, and swapping across groups is what produces sentences that are grammatical but sound wrong.
Neutral and formal
- extremely
- highly
- particularly
- especially
- exceptionally
- remarkably
- notably
- decidedly
Casual
- really
- so
- super
- seriously
- incredibly
- terribly
- awfully
Depth of feeling
- deeply
- profoundly
- intensely
- immensely
- sincerely
- truly
Scale and amount
- hugely
- enormously
- vastly
- greatly
- substantially
For absolutes only
- absolutely
- utterly
- completely
- entirely
- totally
- thoroughly
- perfectly
One group is often listed as synonyms but is not: quite, fairly, rather, pretty, and somewhat all soften a statement rather than strengthen it. Pretty good is weaker than good, not stronger.
Which synonym should you use?
| If you mean… | Best alternatives |
|---|---|
| A neutral boost in any register | extremely, exceptionally, particularly |
| Casual speech or dialogue | really, so, super, seriously |
| Emotion or conviction | deeply, profoundly, sincerely, truly |
| A measurable difference | vastly, substantially, greatly |
| Something that admits no degree | absolutely, utterly, entirely |
| A likelihood or an evaluation | highly (likely, unusual, recommended) |
| Singling one thing out from others | especially, particularly, notably |
| Formal or academic writing | drop the intensifier and pick a precise adjective |
The better fix: one word instead of two
Most of the time the problem is not that very is the wrong intensifier. It is that the adjective is doing too little work and very is propping it up. English usually has a stronger single word available.
| Instead of… | Use |
|---|---|
| very tired | exhausted, drained |
| very hungry | famished, ravenous |
| very big | enormous, immense |
| very small | tiny, minuscule |
| very cold | freezing, frigid |
| very hot | scorching, sweltering |
| very angry | furious, livid |
| very happy | thrilled, elated |
| very sad | heartbroken, despondent |
| very scared | terrified, petrified |
| very surprised | astonished, stunned |
| very interested | fascinated, engrossed |
| very important | crucial, vital |
| very good | excellent, outstanding |
| very bad | awful, dreadful |
| very clean | spotless, immaculate |
| very dirty | filthy, squalid |
| very loud | deafening, thunderous |
| very quiet | silent, hushed |
| very old | ancient, antiquated |
| very funny | hilarious, uproarious |
| very sure | certain, positive |
These are upgrades in intensity, not exact equivalents, and a few carry extra baggage. Famished and petrified are hyperbole in ordinary speech. Squalid implies neglect and poverty, not just dirt. Antiquated means outdated rather than simply aged, so an antiquated filing system is obsolete while an ancient one is merely old. Check that the stronger word means what you want before you swap it in. Very good is the trickiest row here, since good carries several unrelated senses and the upgrade has to match the one you mean.
Very synonyms explained
1. Extremely
The closest all-purpose substitute. It works with nearly any gradable adjective and is neutral enough for a report or an email, though it is noticeably heavier than very and gets tiring if repeated.
Best used when: you want emphasis without changing register.
The margins are extremely tight this quarter.
2. Highly
Restricted by collocation rather than by meaning. It attaches to evaluations and probabilities — highly likely, highly recommended, highly skilled, highly unusual — and refuses physical states. Highly tired and highly cold are not English.
Best used when: the adjective describes a judgment, a skill, or a probability.
A second delay is highly unlikely at this point.
3. Really
The conversational default. It is the least formal of the neutral intensifiers and reads as spoken English on the page, which makes it useful in dialogue and weak in professional writing.
Best used when: you want the sentence to sound like someone talking.
That was really kind of her.
4. Incredibly
Stronger than really and still informal. Its literal sense — not believable — has faded almost entirely in this use, but it retains a note of surprise that extremely lacks.
Best used when: the degree is unexpected. Incredibly cheap implies the price is surprising; extremely cheap just reports it.
The flight was incredibly cheap for a Friday.
5. Deeply
Reserved for feelings, convictions and states of mind. Deeply grateful, deeply concerned, deeply personal. It cannot modify physical dimensions, so deeply tall and deeply loud are impossible.
Best used when: the adjective describes an emotional or moral state. Profoundly is the more formal alternative and suggests something that has changed the person.
We are deeply grateful for the extra week.
6. Absolutely and utterly
These pair with adjectives that describe an all-or-nothing state: impossible, free, certain, devastated, exhausted, ruined. Such adjectives resist very for the same reason — there is no halfway point to intensify. Very impossible sounds wrong where absolutely impossible does not. The same pattern governs amazing, which resists very for exactly this reason.
Best used when: the adjective is already at the top of its scale. Utterly leans negative — you are utterly ruined but absolutely delighted.
Rescheduling on that date is absolutely impossible.
7. Particularly and especially
Not plain intensifiers. Both single one item out from a set, which is why they feel odd with no comparison in sight. She was especially patient implies more patient than usual, or than others.
Best used when: there is an implied comparison. In negative sentences, not particularly also works as polite understatement.
The second draft wasn’t particularly clearer than the first.
8. So
Informal, and it wants a consequence. So tired that I fell asleep on the train is complete; so tired on its own reads as speech and can sound like an unfinished thought in writing.
Best used when: a that clause follows, or in dialogue where the tone carries it.
The line was so long that we gave up and ate at home.
9. Terribly and awfully
Both have lost their negative meaning as intensifiers and can now attach to pleasant adjectives — terribly kind, awfully sweet. They read as slightly old-fashioned or British-leaning in American English and suit polite, warm registers.
Best used when: you want a softened, courteous tone rather than raw emphasis.
It was terribly kind of you to wait.
10. Quite
The least reliable word on this list. With gradable adjectives it often weakens — quite good usually means fairly good — while with absolutes it strengthens, as in quite impossible or quite right. The softening sense is stronger in British usage, so the same sentence can land differently on either side of the Atlantic.
Best used when: the adjective is an absolute. Avoid it where praise could be misread as faint.
You’re quite right about the deadline.
“Too” is not a synonym for “very”
Too does not mean very. It means more than some limit allows, and the limit is part of the meaning:
- The coffee is very hot. — a description.
- The coffee is too hot. — you cannot drink it yet.
This is one of the most common intensifier errors among English learners, and it changes the sentence rather than shading it. The same caution applies to enough, which sets a threshold in the other direction.
When “very” is an adjective
Very also works as an adjective meaning “exactly this one,” and here the intensifier synonyms are useless:
- That very day → that exact day, that same day
- The very thought of it → the mere thought, the thought alone
- At the very top → at the absolute top, at the topmost point
- Her very own office → her own private office
Selfsame covers the “that very day” sense but is archaic outside legal and literary writing. Very own has no clean one-word replacement; it is an emphatic construction rather than a word with a synonym.
Worth separating from all of this: very and vary are unrelated words that sound similar, and mixing them is a spelling issue rather than a word-choice one.
Common questions
Should I avoid “very” in formal writing?
Usually, though not because the word is wrong. Intensifiers add emphasis without adding information, so in a report or an essay they tend to signal that the writer has not found the precise term. Very significant tells a reader less than statistically significant or decisive.
Is “very unique” correct?
It is widely criticized. Unique traditionally means one of a kind, which admits no degree, so many editors and style guides reject modification. The construction is common in speech, but in edited writing unusual, rare, or distinctive avoid the argument entirely.
What is a stronger word than “very”?
For gradable adjectives, extremely and exceptionally. For absolutes, utterly and absolutely. For feelings, profoundly. But the strongest version of the sentence normally has no intensifier at all — just a better adjective.