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Formal and academic synonyms

The casual words that slip into essays and reports, each with a neutral option and a formal one, plus a before-and-after example.

Turn the register dial

The same finding written three ways. Switch the register and see which words change and why.

We looked into why the numbers went up a lot, and it turns out people just bought more stuff.

Phrasal verbs (looked into, went up), vague nouns (stuff) and fillers (just, a lot).

Casual	Neutral	Formal / academic	Rewrite
get	obtain	acquire	Can I get a copy of the report? Could I obtain a copy of the report?
go up	increase	rise	Prices go up every year. Prices rise every year.
find out	learn	ascertain	I need to find out the deadline. I need to ascertain the deadline.
figure out	solve	determine	We need to figure out the problem. We need to determine the cause of the problem.
set up	arrange	establish	She set up the meeting for Friday. She arranged the meeting for Friday.
deal with	handle	address	I have to deal with this issue today. I have to address this issue today.
look into	investigate	examine	They will look into the complaint. They will examine the complaint.
work out	solve	resolve	We worked out the schedule. We resolved the schedule conflict.
bring up	mention	raise	He brought up the budget in the meeting. He raised the budget in the meeting.
cut down on	reduce	decrease	I need to cut down on coffee. I need to decrease my coffee intake.
use	utilize	employ	We use this software every day. We employ this software every day.
ask for	request	solicit	She asked for help with the form. She requested help with the form.
figure	understand	comprehend	I don't figure the instructions. I do not comprehend the instructions.
talk about	discuss	address	We talked about the issue after class. We addressed the issue after class.
go over	review	examine	Let's go over the notes again. Let's examine the notes again.
need to	have to	must	I need to finish this tonight. I must finish this tonight.
a lot of	many	numerous	There were a lot of questions. There were numerous questions.
kind of	somewhat	slightly	I'm kind of tired today. I am slightly tired today.
really	very	highly	The course was really useful. The course was highly useful.
basically	essentially	fundamentally	Basically, we need a new plan. Fundamentally, we need a new plan.
actually	in fact	indeed	Actually, the meeting starts at 2. Indeed, the meeting starts at 2.
just	simply	merely	I just wanted to ask a question. I merely wanted to ask a question.
quite	rather	considerably	The results were quite good. The results were considerably better than expected.
maybe	perhaps	possibly	Maybe we can meet tomorrow. Perhaps we can meet tomorrow.
sort of	somewhat	to some extent	I'm sort of confused. I am somewhat confused.
probably	likely	presumably	He'll probably arrive late. He will presumably arrive late.
so	therefore	thus	It was raining, so we stayed inside. It was raining; thus, we stayed inside.
but	however	nevertheless	I wanted to go, but I was busy. I wanted to go; nevertheless, I was busy.
also	in addition	moreover	She also submitted the form. She submitted the form; moreover, she included supporting documents.
and	plus	furthermore	We reviewed the data and the draft. We reviewed the data; furthermore, we evaluated the draft.
then	next	subsequently	First we met, then we ate lunch. First we met; subsequently, we ate lunch.
well	to be honest	frankly	Well, I don't agree with that plan. Frankly, I do not agree with that plan.
like	such as	for example	I enjoy outdoor activities like hiking. I enjoy outdoor activities, for example, hiking.
stuff	things	materials	I packed all my stuff. I packed all my materials.
thing	item	matter	One thing we need is more time. One matter we need to consider is time.
job	position	occupation	She got a new job. She obtained a new position.
kid	child	minor	The kid asked a question. The minor asked a question.
homework	assignment	task	I finished my homework. I completed my assignment.
help	assist	facilitate	Can you help me with this? Can you assist me with this?
show	demonstrate	illustrate	This chart shows the trend. This chart illustrates the trend.
tell	inform	notify	Please tell me when you're free. Please notify me when you are available.
make	create	produce	We made a new plan. We produced a new plan.
keep	retain	maintain	Please keep a copy for yourself. Please retain a copy for yourself.
end up	finally	ultimately	We ended up working late. We ultimately worked late.
come up with	think of	devise	She came up with a good idea. She devised a good idea.
point out	mention	highlight	He pointed out a mistake. He highlighted a mistake.
start	begin	commence	The lecture starts at nine. The lecture commences at nine.
check	verify	confirm	Please check the details. Please verify the details.
fix	correct	rectify	We need to fix the error. We need to rectify the error.
cut	reduce	eliminate	We need to cut costs. We need to reduce costs.
put off	delay	postpone	They put off the meeting. They postponed the meeting.
pick up	collect	retrieve	I'll pick up the documents tomorrow. I will retrieve the documents tomorrow.
run into	meet	encounter	I ran into my professor downtown. I encountered my professor downtown.
look at	review	examine	Let's look at the proposal. Let's examine the proposal.
come back	return	recur	The question came back later. The issue recurred later.

Questions

What makes a word formal or academic?

Formal words tend to be single verbs rather than phrasal verbs (“investigate” rather than “look into”), come from Latin or French rather than Old English, avoid contractions and slang, and are more precise. Academic writing adds hedging (“suggests”, “may indicate”) and discipline-specific terms.

Should academic writing always use the most formal word?

No. Style guides such as the APA Publication Manual and university writing centres recommend clear, direct language. Use a formal word when it is more precise; do not swap “use” for “utilise” just to sound impressive.

Are phrasal verbs wrong in essays?

They are not wrong, but many feel conversational. Replacing “find out” with “determine” or “set up” with “establish” usually tightens academic prose.