We’ve just introduced a new feature to enhance your writing in Overleaf: Synonyms in Context. Select a word or phrase, and receive alternatives that fit your sentence perfectly! This feature helps you refine your writing style, add variety to your vocabulary, and enhance your overall expression.
Synonyms in Context explained
Choosing the right words is crucial in research writing. Whether you’re working on a thesis or a manuscript, your writing should be precise, clear, and impactful. Writefull’s new Synonyms in Context feature lets you instantly replace words or phrases to add variation, improve clarity, and articulate your ideas more effectively. Unlike a typical synonym dictionary, this feature considers the entire sentence and works on single words as well as phrases–making it incredibly powerful!
Here are six examples of how it can help you:
1. Adding variation to your writing
Are you looking to avoid repetitive wording? In the example below, you see how Writefull offers synonyms of the word ‘domains’, to prevent repetition within the same sentence:
2. Avoiding vague language
In research writing, you want to be as clear and specific as you can. This means avoiding vague language like ‘nice’, ‘kind of’, or ‘some things’. Writefull gives you alternatives:
3. Paraphrasing part of your sentence
You might feel that you’re not using the right phrase; it’s not convincing enough, doesn’t read well in your sentence, or doesn’t convey the message you have in mind. Use Writefull’s Synonyms in Context feature to rephrase within a sentence (you can also use Writefull’s separate Paraphrase feature for this):
4. Making your language more accessible
It’s important for a scientific text to be understandable by novice researchers as well as experienced ones. If you feel parts of your sentence are too complex, ask Writefull for alternatives and pick a simpler alternative:
5. Enhancing argumentation
The Synonyms in Context feature can also help when you’re looking to strengthen your arguments by finding more convincing words or phrases. (To do this for a whole sentence or paragraph, use Writefull’s separate ‘Change Style > Punchy’ feature from the Context Options.)
6. Bridging sentences creatively
Bridging sentences with connectors is important for the readability of your text. Use the Synonyms in Context feature to come up with alternatives and bridge sentences smoothly:
How to access Writefull’s Synonyms in Context
Within Writefull for Overleaf, select 1 to 5 words, and click the magnifier icon to get synonyms or alternative phrases for your context:
As is the case with Writefull’s language suggestions, the alternatives also show you percentages. These indicate their semantic similarity to the text you selected, indicating how closely they correspond to the original meaning. Click one of the options to add it directly to your text in Overleaf!
This feature is part of Writefull’s Premium offering. While you get a limited preview with a free account, you’ll need to upgrade for unlimited use.
More feature ideas?
We value your feedback. Have an idea for a feature to improve your writing in Overleaf, whether it's around language or LaTeX? Share your thoughts with us at support@writefull.com!
