Another Unoriginal Adjective: Good

Good day. It’s good to see you searching for ways to replace good in your writing. I plan to take a good look at the alternatives.

Ugh.

Why Do We See This Word so Often?

Good embraces many meanings, including the following:

1. the opposite of bad
2. well-behaved
3. satisfactory or desirable
4. hospitable, neighborly, or kind
5. honorable
6. hale or healthy
7. adequate for a specific purpose
8. virtuous or moral
9. providing pleasure
10. thorough

English Adds a Hurdle

Rather than appending –er and ­–est for comparative and superlative forms, we say good, better, and best.

Let’s Analyze a Few Examples

Example 1

Harry had a good imagination.

Harry had a vivid imagination.

Although the second sentence is stronger, it’s a tell. Can we show Harry’s imagination instead?

Harry’s eyes glazed as he daydreamed of pizzas dripping with extra cheese, rich chocolate milkshakes, and doughnuts dipped in caramel sauce.

Now we see Harry’s thoughts, and we gain insight into his character. Note glazed, a verb that meshes with the food motif. Do you envision an overweight protagonist? Or an emaciated captive who hasn’t eaten for days? The author’s responsibility is to expand on this character, to make readers respond positively or negatively.

Example 2

Roberto was a good carpenter.

Roberto was a skilled carpenter.

Skilled is a more appropriate adjective in this situation. Other words pulled from the list in this post could include accomplished, first-rate, or talented.

Can we drop the adjectives and attempt a different approach?

Once they had witnessed his handiwork, Roberto’s clients refused to hire anyone else. Carpentry? No — artistry.

Zero adjectives. Strong nouns and verbs instead.

Example 3

Kyle offered several good suggestions, but his wife ignored them.

Kyle offered several helpful suggestions, but his wife ignored them.

Why is Kyle’s wife ignoring his suggestions? Are they truly good? Let’s show a few particulars:

Kyle yelled at his wife over the din of the malfunctioning dishwasher, “You should use the chef’s knife. And the other cutting board. And don’t forget the garlic.”

Leslie continued chopping green onions, gaze focused on the television blaring in the corner.

These snippets represent Kyle’s point of view. He thinks his ideas are good. Leslie might not. Maybe she doesn’t hear Kyle, or she could be mad because he’s an over-controlling misogynist. The writer must provide appropriate details.

Other scenarios? Perhaps Leslie wears a hearing aid. Maybe she’s distracted because the baby is crying.

Example 4

Jennie’s Flowers & Gifts sells a good assortment of houseplants.

Jennie’s Flowers & Gifts sells a diverse assortment of houseplants.

Can an assortment be bad? In this case, good could be deleted or substituted with a more appropriate word, as in the second example. Better yet, let’s provide specifics:

Jennie’s Flowers & Gifts sells hundreds of houseplants, including ivies, rare orchids, and cacti.

No more lackluster scenario; readers will now visualize the various types of plants sold by the shop.

Example 5

“Roger is a good man,” Shannon said.

“Roger is a compassionate man,” Shannon said.

Other adjectives to describe Roger might include altruistic, chivalrous, impeccable, or well-mannered, to mention a few. Each word portrays a different image.

Let’s assume he’s compassionate.

“Roger listens to my problems, no matter how trivial he might think they are,” Shannon said. She stared at her toes. “He never interrupts me when I speak. Then he hugs me — you know, that brotherly hug he has for everyone — and I get these feelings that aren’t exactly sisterly.”

Will Shannon reveal her feelings to Roger? Maybe he really is her long-lost brother.

Example 6

Ruby had a good figure.

Ruby had a wicked figure.

The second sentence moves in the right direction. Wicked conveys an impression you wouldn’t envision with other alternatives such as exquisite, lovely, or terrific.

Reliance on the infinitives to have and to be, as so many of the previous examples demonstrate, often result in wishy-washy writing. Let’s show Ruby’s figure.

Whenever Ruby sashayed into a room, all heads snapped in her direction. Gazes, male and female, would begin at her halo of tarnished-gold hair, plummet to her ample cleavage, and stray to her voluptuous hips. She would open her sultry lips, just enough to reveal frost-white veneers, in a supercilious smirk that complemented her haughty head toss.

The narrator provides an opinionated peek at Ruby’s character. Will the thoughts prove true, or does this perhaps reflect the assessment of a jilted lover?

Example 7

Finley chose a room with a good view whenever he traveled.

Finley chose a room with a pleasant view whenever he traveled.

Both of the preceding sentences provide subjective impressions. What one reader deems good or pleasant might be the opposite for someone else. Substituting with adjectives such as exceptional, magnificent, or superior won’t clarify the ambiguity, but concise details will:

Whenever Finley traveled, he chose a top-floor room with a view of the beach.

This shows that Finley prefers waterfront accommodations, and with three extra words, provides insight into his personality.

Did you notice the change in sentence structure?

Alternatives for Good

You won’t always have the room or inclination to show instead of tell. As with every technique, overuse of show will bore readers. When you’re creating a scene where brevity is crucial, some of these good replacements could prove invaluable.

Instead of categorizing words by nuance, I always alphabetize them. Some of the strongest writing and most innovative ideas stem from mixed meanings.

Good Adjectives

A and B
A-1, able, acceptable, accomplished, ace, adept, adequate, admirable, adroit, affable, agreeable, all right, altruistic, amiable, amicable, angelic, appreciable, appropriate, apt, awesome, bang-up, beneficent, benevolent, benign, blameless, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, bounteous, brilliant

C
capable, charitable, chaste, chivalrous, class, classy, commendable, compassionate, competent, complete, compliant, congenial, considerable, considerate, constant, constructive, convenient, cordial, correct, courteous

D and E
dazzling, dear, decent, decorous, deferential, delightful, dependable, desirable, devoted, ducky, dutiful, enjoyable, enticing, esteemed, ethical, excellent, exceptional, exemplary, expedient, expert, exquisite

F to H
fab, fabulous, fair, faithful, fantastic, faultless, favorable, felicitous, fine, first-class, first-rate, fit, fitting, friendly, generous, genial, gentle, giving, gracious, grand, great, guileless, guiltless, hale, healthy, helpful, high-minded, honest, honorable, hospitable, humane, humanitarian, hunky-dory

I to M
ideal, immaculate, impeccable, incomparable, incorruptible, inculpable, innocent, invaluable, irreproachable, jake, jolly, keen, killer, kind, kindhearted, kindly, laudable, law-abiding, likable, lovely, loyal, magnanimous, magnificent, mannerly, marvelous, masterly, meritorious, moral

N to P
neighborly, nice, noble, not bad, obedient, obliging, OK, okay, opportune, outstanding, peachy, peerless, perfect, philanthropic, pleasant, pleasurable, polite, praiseworthy, premium, priceless, prime, principled, prized, proficient, profitable, proper, propitious, pure

Q to S
quality, reliable, reputable, respectable, right, righteous, robust, saint-like, saintly, satisfactory, satisfying, scrupulous, seemly, significant, skilled, skillful, smart, smashing, sound, special, spotless, squeaky-clean, staunch, steadfast, sterling, strong, sturdy, suitable, super, superb, superior, superlative, supreme

T to W
talented, terrific, thorough, thoughtful, timely, tip-top, tolerant, top-notch, treasured, true, trustworthy, trusty, unblemished, unfailing, unimpeachable, unoffending, unspotted, unsullied, untainted, upright, upstanding, valuable, valued, vigorous, virtuoso, virtuous, well, well-behaved, well-mannered, whiter-than-white, whole, wholesome, wicked, wonderful, worthy

Now It’s Your Turn

Can you remove all instances of good in the following?

Exercise 1

“I have a good mind to report you to the police,” Dean said. His voice made me shiver. It hung in the alley, an impending thunderstorm casting unease into the shadows.

The hairs on my arms bristled. “But it wasn’t my fault. I got a good tip from this good-looking guy on Maple Street.”

“Yeah, Maple, where all the prostitutes and druggies hang out.”

“No, Maple, where __________”

[Insert something funny or horrific. Can you twist this into a sci-fi story?]

Exercise 2

It was no good arguing with my wife. Whenever she went into one of her tirades, she informed me she had a good reason for it. But today when she ranted and raved at me like my witch of a mother used to, I grabbed a good __________. [Does the narrator grab a good (gargantuan, heavy, humongous) book and club his wife over the head? A good ol’ tire iron, perhaps? Or does he grab a good hug? Can you move this in an unexpected direction?]

Exercise 3

I stared at the sticky substance on my fingers. It had been a good three weeks, and it was still as viscous as the day I invented it. Dental procedures. Manufacturing. Home repairs. I could make a good billion out of this. Maybe more.

[Our narrator hasn’t thought about weapons applications. Many inventions can be repurposed by the military.]

Exercise 4

Ewan was a good friend. No matter how late at night one of his buddies called, he’d throw on his clothes, pick up the drunk from the bar, and drive the guy home — no questions asked.

Friday, however, turned from good to bad within three minutes. In fact, the media called it “catastrophic.”

[Does Ewan finally get tired of his role? Does one of his buddies attack him? Does he disappear? Maybe he shows up at a police precinct, spattered with blood and unable to remember his identity.]