Filter Words and Adverbs: The 40 Words That Weaken Your Prose

A filter words list is only useful if it comes with the adverbs that do the same damage: both stand between the reader and the scene. A filter word (saw, felt, noticed) reminds you that someone is perceiving instead of giving you the thing perceived; an intensifier or a judging adverb (very, strangely) tells the reader what to think. Here are forty words in four families, each with a draft sentence in italics and its cleaned version, then the tolerance rule by point of view, because none of these words is banned.

Family 1: perception words

Cut the verb, keep what is perceived.

1. saw. She saw that the rain had stopped. The rain had stopped.
2. looked. He looked at the letter on the table. The letter lay on the table, face down.
3. heard. She heard the door slam downstairs. The door slammed downstairs.
4. felt. He felt the cold climb his legs. The cold climbed his legs.
5. noticed. She noticed he had changed his watch. He had changed his watch.
6. realized. He realized the car was gone. The car was gone.
7. knew. She knew she had left the keys. The keys. On the counter.
8. thought. He thought it was too late. It was too late.
9. remembered. She remembered the smell of the cellar. The smell of the cellar, earth and apples.
10. wondered. He wondered whether she would come back. Would she come back?

Family 2: judgment words

Cut the comment, show the fact that justified it.

11. seemed. She seemed tired. She kept her coat on to sit down.
12. appeared. The house appeared abandoned. The shutters had been closed since summer.
13. strangely. He was strangely calm. He folded his napkin in four, then in eight.
14. oddly. Oddly, she had not cried. She had not cried.
15. obviously. He was obviously drunk. He missed the handle twice.
16. clearly. She had clearly lied. The times did not add up.
17. apparently. Apparently he had not come. He had not come.
18. unfortunately. Unfortunately, the train had left. The train had left.
19. surprisingly. The room was surprisingly empty. The room was empty.
20. somehow. Somehow the door was open. The door was open. He never opened it.

Family 3: intensity words

Cut the adverb, or pick a stronger word.

21. very. It was very cold. It was freezing.
22. really. She was really angry. She was angry.
23. so. He was so afraid. He was afraid.
24. extremely. An extremely tall man. A man who ducked through doorways.
25. totally. He was totally lost. He was lost.
26. completely. The street was completely empty. The street was empty.
27. absolutely. She was absolutely certain. She was certain.
28. terribly. A terribly long silence. A ten-second silence.
29. incredibly. An incredibly dark night. A night with no streetlights.
30. perfectly. He knew perfectly well where she was. He knew where she was.

Family 4: hedging words

Decide, then write the decided sentence.

31. a little. She was a little disappointed. She was disappointed.
32. almost. He almost smiled. His mouth moved.
33. rather. A rather quiet man. A quiet man.
34. quite. The evening was quite dull. The evening was long.
35. somewhat. He was somewhat embarrassed. He looked at his shoes.
36. sort of. It was sort of his home. It was his home.
37. slightly. She trembled slightly. She trembled.
38. more or less. They were more or less the same age. They were the same age.
39. maybe. Maybe it was a sign. It was a sign.
40. probably. He was probably right. He was right.

The tolerance rule by point of view

These words are expenses, not errors. The budget depends on the narrator.

In third person omniscient, the narrator is allowed to judge: obviously, unfortunately, oddly are his voice. The budget is wide.

In close third person, you are already inside the character's head, so filter words are redundant. One per page, at most, for a moment when the perceiving itself is the event.

In first person, the budget for hedging words goes up, because they can make the voice: a narrator who says probably in every sentence is someone who dares not assert. Perception words stay first on the cutting list, as shown in show, don't tell in first person.

In dialogue, anything goes: people talk in verys and reallys.

The proofreader highlights, you decide

The list is for revision, not for the first draft. Reedsy and ProWritingAid publish lists of this kind; a list is only half the job, because every occurrence needs a decision. In the Sagoræ workshop, the built-in proofreader, no AI involved, free and unlimited, highlights all forty words in one pass, alongside the repetitions described in how to spot repetition in your writing. It deletes nothing: you decide whether the word is an expense or a voice. When you hesitate, the AI Proofreader explains what the word does to the sentence, without rewriting it.

This hunt is the precision pass of how to improve your writing style, and it lightens a manuscript by hundreds of words before you even start cutting words from your novel.

Frequently asked questions

Should I delete every adverb? No. An adverb that carries information (he answered slowly) stays; an adverb that inflates or judges (very, obviously) goes.

What is a filter word? A verb of perception or thought (saw, felt, realized) that stands between the reader and the thing perceived. You cut it and keep the thing.

Are filter words worse in first person? They are more frequent there, because the narrator is allowed to say what she feels, and so they cost more.

If you want a proofreader that highlights these forty words without deleting a single one for you, Sagoræ offers a free trial, no card required.