A redundancy puts two or more words that mean the same thing side by side, as in added bonus or unite together. Cut the extra word unless it adds something. The list below collects the most common redundancies to avoid when writing.
For any writer, delivering a message to the reader as easily and clearly as possible is very important. Yet many writers make the mistake of putting words with the same meaning right next to each other. Using repetitious, duplicative words (just like these two) can blur the message. Part of the problem is that most writers, and even readers, often do not notice it happening. This article shows how easy it is to fall into that trap, and its list helps you recognize redundancies and avoid them.
What are redundancies in writing?
In English, a redundancy is an expression in which two or more words that mean the same thing are used together. Often one word is meant to modify the other, but it adds nothing, because the meaning is already there. Examples are unite together, added bonus, and early beginnings.
There are cases in which you can use them, but make sure the extra word adds to your message. Good writers keep their sentences tight, and a clear sentence structure helps you write clear content. If a redundant word does not improve your writing, cut it. Remember, too, that some phrases are exceptions. Final destination, for example, is useful when you need to tell the last stop of a journey from the stops along the way. In the end, your goal should be to make your writing better, not longer.
Redundancies in example sentences
Here are a few sentences with redundancies. Some may seem to fit the sentence well, but each one repeats the meaning of the word next to it:
- "I was so happy to receive the added bonus yesterday." A bonus is, by definition, something added.
- "This writing example is adequate enough for people to understand." The words flow well, but adequate and enough mean the same, and either one works on its own.
- "The statement she made was blatantly obvious to those who heard it." Blatant already means very obvious.
- "Can you please grab the hammer manually by hand?" Manually means by hand.
A list of common redundancies
In each phrase below, the part in italics is the part you can usually cut. Context still matters, and a few phrases, such as tuna fish, are so common that they are accepted.
A
absolutely essential, absolutely necessary, actual fact, add an additional, added bonus, adequate enough, advance forward, advance planning, advance preview, advance reservations, advance warning, affirmative yes, all-time record, alternative choice, 8 a.m. in the morning, and etc., anonymous stranger, annual anniversary, armed gunman, artificial prosthesis, ascend up, assemble together, attach together, ATM machine
B
bald-headed, balsa wood, basic fundamentals, basic necessities, blatantly obvious, blend together, boat marina, bouquet of flowers, brief in duration, brief moment, brief summary, burning embers, but yet
C
cacophony of sound, cameo appearance, cancel out, careful scrutiny, cash money, chase after, circle around, circulate around, classify into groups, close proximity, closed fist, collaborate together, combine together, commute back and forth, completely annihilate, completely destroyed, completely eliminate, completely engulfed, completely filled, completely surround, component parts, confer together, connect together, connect up, consensus of opinion, cooperate together, could possibly, crisis situation, current incumbent, current status quo, current trend
D
depreciate in value, descend down, desirable benefits, different kinds, disappear from sight, drop down, during the course of, dwindle down
E
each and every, earlier in time, early beginnings, eliminate altogether, emergency situation, empty hole, empty out, empty space, enclosed herein, end result, enter in, entirely eliminate, equal to one another, equally as, eradicate completely, estimated at about, evolve over time, exact same, exposed opening, extradite back
F
far distance, favorable approval, fellow classmates, fellow colleague, few in number, filled to capacity, final conclusion, final end, final outcome, final result, final ultimatum, first and foremost, first conceived, first dibs, fly through the air, follow after, foreign imports, former graduate, former veteran, free gift, from whence, frozen ice, frozen tundra, full to capacity, fuse together, future plans, future recurrence
G
gather together, general consensus of opinion, general public, general vicinity, GOP party, GRE exam, grow in size
H
had done previously, harmful injuries, head honcho, heat up, historic milestone, HIV virus, hoist up, hollow tube
I
illustrated drawing, incredible to believe, indicted on a charge, input into, integrate with each other, interact with each other, introduced a new, introduced for the first time, ISBN number
J
join together, joint collaboration, just exactly
K
kneel down, knowledgeable experts
L
lag behind, later time, LCD display, little baby, live studio audience, local residents, look back in retrospect
M
made out of, major breakthrough, major feat, manually by hand, may possibly, meet together, meet with each other, meld together, mental attitude, mental telepathy, merge together, might possibly, minestrone soup, mix together, moment in time, most unique, mutual cooperation
N
nape of the neck, native habitat, natural instinct, new beginning, new innovation, new invention, new recruit, none at all, none whatsoever, nostalgia for the past, now pending
O
off of, old adage, old cliché, old custom, open trench, open up, oral conversation, originally created
P
pair of twins, palm of the hand, passing fad, past experience, past history, past memories, past records, penetrate into, pick and choose, PIN number, pizza pie, plan ahead, plan in advance, plunge down, present incumbent, prior experience, proceed forward, proposed plan, pursue after
R
RAM memory, raise up, reason is because, reason why, recur again, refer back, reflect back, regular routine, repay back, return back, revert back, round in shape
S
safe haven, safe sanctuary, same exact, sand dune, separated apart from each other, sequential order, shared commonalities, share together, sharp point, slight hint, sole of the foot, spell out in detail, spliced together, sum total, sworn affidavit
T
temper tantrum, three-way love triangle, total destruction, true facts, truly sincere, tuna fish, two halves
U
ultimate goal, undergraduate student, unexpected surprise, unintentional mistake, uphill climb, UPC code, usual custom
V
vacillate back and forth, various different, visible to the eye
W
wall mural, warn in advance, white snow, whole entire
Finding redundancies in your own writing
A spelling check cannot find these phrases on its own, because every word in them is spelled correctly. The Picky mode of the Spell Checker adds style suggestions for wordy phrases and repetition, which can point you to some of them. For more on why they weaken a text, read why you should avoid redundant words.
Tight writing matters most when you want to convince someone, so it is worth knowing how persuasive and argumentative writing differ. And some of the phrases above are more at home in casual speech than in a formal text: how to choose between a formal and an informal writing style helps you decide which register you need.