How Often Do You Use the Verb Use?

Use, make use of, put to use.

Use a key, use a credit card, use a language.

This three-letter word haunts public signs.

It hangs out in instruction manuals, and we use our outside voices to curse the idiocy of the people who wrote the manuals.

Worst of all, use appears so often in some books that we want to use a match to incinerate them.

This post presents more than 300 ways to mitigate use abuse.

Straightforward Replacements Often Solve the Problem

Review the following sentences. Is use the best choice for each situation? Other words deliver connotations that might prove better.

accept

Use Accept someone’s help.

apply

Use Apply makeup.

benefit from

Use Benefit from the library.

demonstrate

Use Demonstrate good manners.

employ

Use Employ techniques.

exercise

Use Exercise good judgment.

follow

Use Follow a recipe.

hire

Use Hire a personal trainer.

initiate

Use Initiate a procedure.

offer

Use Offer as collateral.

operate

Use Operate tools.

rely on

Use Rely on a computer.

wield

Use Wield a gun.

Rather Than Replace Use, Consider Alternative Wording, Including Clichés If Appropriate

use a credit card

buy on credit, swipe the stripe, make MasterCard moan

use a key

access, gain entry, open, unlock

use a language

speak in/write in/communicate in [name of language]

use a microphone

amplify one’s voice, speak into a microphone, blast the audience’s ears

use a paintbrush

coat, dab, daub, decorate, paint, smear, splatter, whitewash

use a pen

draw, endorse, jot down, note, pen, print, scribble, sign, write

use a phone

buzz, call, dial, get on the blower, phone, ring, telephone

use a trash bag

bundle/throw into a trash bag, discard, garbage, throw away, trash

use as a weapon

convert into a weapon, threaten with, weaponize

use as an excuse

blame something, make excuses, pin on, point the finger at

use common sense

consider before acting, exercise prudence, practice caution

use drugs

dope, drop, drug, get high, inject, mainline, shoot up, snort

use elbow grease

apply oneself, exert oneself, knuckle down, persevere, work hard

use every trick in the book

boil the ocean, do anything to succeed, go all-out, strive, try hard

use fertilizer

compost, dress, enrich the soil, feed, fertilize, mulch, top-dress

use foul language

blaspheme, curse, cuss, swear, utter profanities, turn the air blue

use good judgment

choose wisely, exercise caution, harness one’s horse sense, succeed

use magic

bewitch, cast a spell, curse, enchant, hex, possess

use one’s fist

batter, clout, cold-cock, fist, pound, pummel, punch, strike, wallop

use one’s hands

operate by hand, perform manually; act out, gesture, pantomime, sign, signal

use one’s head

contemplate, deliberate, meditate, mull over, reason, think, weigh

use one’s loaf

figure out by oneself, think smart, work smarter not harder

use one’s teeth

bite, champ, chew, chomp, gnaw, masticate, munch, nibble

use over

recondition, recycle, reprocess, reuse, reutilize, salvage

use poor judgment

botch, err, fail, flop, flub, foul up, make a mess, mess up, spoil

use soap

bathe, clean, cleanse, lather, launder, scrub, shower, soap, wash

use [somebody or something]

abuse, exploit, manipulate, stage-manage, take advantage of

use subterfuge

con, deceive, dupe, evade, fake, hoodwink, lie, mislead, swindle, trick

use sugar

add sugar, candify, candy, mull, sugar, sweeten

use the best china

brag, hide the dirty laundry, make a good impression, posture, show off

use the car

chauffeur, drive, motor, putt-putt, tailgate, weave through traffic

use torture

assault, beat, brutalize, lay into, punish, torment, torture

use up

consume, deplete, drain, eat up, empty, exhaust, expend, finish

Replace the Modal Verb Phrase Used to

Used to typically precedes an infinitive:

• used to swim
• used to walk
• used to read

Try swapping the modal with words and phrases such as:

• always
• formerly
• in the old days
• in the past
• once
• once upon a time
• previously
• when dinosaurs roamed the earth
• when he was a kid
• when she was younger
• whenever I __________
• would

Run Careful Search-and-Replace Operations

Determine intended meaning before choosing any of the following alternatives. Many will steer creativity in new directions. Embrace them as opportunities to add subplots or to augment details of narrative.

A and B

accept, activate, actuate, administer, apply, arrange, avail oneself of, begin, benefit from, brandish, bring about, bring into play, bring on, bring to bear, burn through

C

capitalize on, carry out, carry through, cash in on, cause, channel, commence, conduct, consume, control, coordinate

D

demonstrate, depend on, deplete, deploy, develop, devour, disburse, draw on, drive

E and F

eat up, effectuate, employ, empty, energize, engage, engender, establish, execute, exercise, exert, exhaust, expend, exploit, finish, flaunt, flourish, follow, fulfill

H to N

handle, harness, have recourse to, hire, ignite, implement, initiate, instigate, leverage, manage, maneuver, manipulate, mobilize, negotiate

O and P

offer, operate, orchestrate, organize, originate, perform, pioneer, ply, practice, prepare, put forth, put into action, put into effect, put into operation, put into service

R to W

rely on, resort to, run, spark, spearhead, spend, start, steer, take on, trigger, utilize, wield, work, work with

Time to Use Wield Your Red Pencil

Reduce or eliminate use, used, and used to in the following exercise.

Exercise

“Use your imagination,” said Mrs. Peters as she held a beaker against the classroom window. Sunlight filtered through murky liquid and illuminated tiny moving objects. “What could they be?”

A boy near the door used a finger to tap away for a few seconds on his cell phone. “Baby shrimp?”

“No.”

A girl in the back row piped up, “I used to get tadpoles from the pond near our house every spring. They kinda look like that.”

“No, they’re not tadpoles. Use your heads. What have we been discussing in class for the last two days?”

Almost as one, the class chorused, “Aliens.”

Mrs. Peters used an index finger to push her glasses onto the bridge of her nose. The sunlight filtered through her neck and jaw now, illuminating bones and muscles.

Suggested solution

“Look — and imagine,” said Mrs. Peters as she held a beaker against the classroom window. Sunlight filtered through murky liquid and illuminated tiny moving objects. “What could they be?”

A boy near the door tapped for a few seconds on his cell phone. “Baby shrimp?”

“No.”

A girl in the back row piped up, “When I was little, I got tadpoles from the pond near our house every spring. They kinda look like that.”

“No, they’re not tadpoles. Think. What have we been discussing in class for the last two days?”

Almost as one, the class chorused, “Aliens.”

Mrs. Peters pushed her glasses onto the bridge of her nose. The sunlight filtered through her neck and jaw now, illuminating bones and muscles.

Notes:

Use your imagination becomes Look — and imagine, which is appropriate, since Mrs. Peters holds up something for the class to observe.

A boy near the door used a finger to tap away becomes A boy near the door tapped. There’s no need to show him using a finger. Readers will envision that without the extra words.

I used to get tadpoles from the pond is reworded to When I was little, I got tadpoles from the pond. The edited version helps establish that the girl was probably a preschooler when she did this.

Use your heads becomes Think.

Mrs. Peters used an index finger to push her glasses onto the bridge of her nose becomes Mrs. Peters pushed her glasses onto the bridge of her nose. As with the boy on his cell phone, readers will assume she uses a finger. If she had pushed her glasses with a piece of chalk or another object that has some bearing on this scene, including it would be appropriate. Otherwise, the extra words contribute nothing.

Why has the class been discussing aliens? Maybe the students can see an alien growing inside Mrs. Peters. Does she have two tongues, perhaps?