very

“Overworked for countless years, it has so lost force that it can perversely

weaken the adjective or adverb its user hopes to make stronger.

Those who respect its condition and its need of rest learn to call on it rarely.”

Modern American Usage

Just as with clichés and trite phrases, using “very” — in the sense of “to a high degree” — is often lazy writing that works against you.

The more you rely on “very” to intensify your meaning, the more diluted and unimpressive your writing becomes.

Choose strongly expressive words:

rather than writing “A very large dog rounded the corner in front of us,” write “A huge dog” or “An impressively large dog.” Instead of writing “A very small amount of the chemical,” write “A minute amount.”

Other senses of “very” do work well, such as “very” when used in the sense of “real,” “actual,” “exact” or “precise,” as in “She is the very editor we need for this job!”

So does “very” in the sense of “special” or “particular” as in this John Milton quote: “the very essence of truth is plainness and brightness.”