Saw this very much on x

[nice90sguy]

I just realized that I don't have the habit of using "very" with almost anything... Is that just me, the odd non-native guy?

Not just you.

I never use "very" in my stories, except when writing someone's speech. I don't actively avoid it; I guess I might use it in narration if I wanted the story to read like someone was speaking.

Most of the alternatives are obvious to me and I use them comfortably and automatically, except for MUNIFICENT which in commoner usage in the U.S. than in the UK, and woudn't spring to my mind to use.

GORGEOUS - As pointless and lazy as "beautiful". It's an "oh-oh" when I read it in narrative, unless it's first person narraive, in which case I get a idea of the narrator as male, and as the type of guy who uses the word "gorgeous".

 

[mildlyaroused]

Unpopular opinion BUT I think "very ___" often (maybe even usually) sounds better than a lot of these words. It's a matter of style, but to me simple language combined with intensifiers often has a timeless feel to it.

 

[Polranny]

I hate to see 'very unique' but I am a pedant

 

[yowser]

I hate to see 'very unique' but I am a pedant

On the other hand, 'very pregnant' has a visual, vivid charm to it.