The Writer's Thesaurus
By Dr Oliver Tearle
The word selfish is a very useful one, but it is also rather blunt and direct. Happily, there are other ways of describing someone as ‘selfish’ without using this word, or at least overusing it. Many of them, fittingly enough, are self- formations, as the first synonyms listed below indicate: many selfish synonyms are, appropriately, self-centred. Continue reading “36 of the Best ‘Selfish’ Synonyms and Antonyms”
By Dr Oliver Tearle
The word ‘scrupulous’ has an interesting though somewhat mysterious origin. A scruple was originally a small weight or measurement, the word being derived from the Latin scrūpulum, which itself originally meant ‘small pebble’. The word scruple came to mean ‘a worry’ because the Roman author Cicero likened a nagging problem to a small, sharp stone stuck in one’s shoe, i.e., a source of constant, niggling anxiety. At least, that’s how we think the word ‘scruple’ came to have its more familiar meaning. Continue reading “22 of the Best ‘Scrupulous’ Synonyms”
By Dr Oliver Tearle
Incompetence is everywhere, it seems. Whether it’s an inept colleague, a less-than-proficient employee, or a student or pupil who seems to lack the basic skills required of someone at their level, we often need to refer to someone’s incompetence.
But it’s a rather harsh word. Calling someone ‘incompetent’ can seem rather blunt and direct, and might not help them to improve. Sometimes, then, we need to cushion the blow a little, and find some alternative way of calling someone ‘incompetent’ without saying so in so many words. Continue reading “46 of the Best ‘Incompetent’ Synonyms and Antonyms”