Wordy phrase replacements

Try using these simpler, concise alternatives to wordy, bureaucratic phrases. Also see Using appropriate words in the County's Plain-language writing guide.

Avoid these ...	Try these instead ...
According to our records ...	We find ...
adequate number of	enough
adjacent to	beside, by, close to, near, next to
afford an opportunity	allow, give, let
ahead of schedule	early
a large proportion of	many, most, much (or be specific)
all of	all (unless followed by a pronoun)
almost all	most
along the lines of	like, similar, similar to
already exist	drop already
an estimated	about, almost, more than, nearly
are in possession of	has, have, owns, with
arrange to return	return
as a matter of fact ...	Usually unneeded. Leave out.
as a result of	because, because of, since
as long as	if, since
as of now; as of [date]	about; from, on
As per [our records] ...	Our records show ...
as regards	about
assuming that	if
as to	about, of, on, to (or leave out)
as well as	also, and
at all times	always (or leave out)
at an early date	soon (or a specific date)
attached herewith is	here are, here's, with this (or leave out)
at the end of	after
at the present time, at this point in time, at this time	now, today (be specific or leave out)
at the time	when (or be specific)
bring to a conclusion	conclude or assume, close, decide, end, finish, infer, settle
by means of	by, using, with
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center around	at, in, on, revolve around
come to an agreement	agree
comply with	follow, obey
conduct an investigation	investigate or examine, explore, find out, look into, research, search, study
conduct experiments	experiment
consensus of opinion, general consensus	agreement, consensus
contiguous to	adjoining, next to, touching
course of	at, during, in, while
desirous of	use a form of want (or leave out)
despite the fact that	although, despite, even though
draw to your attention	point out, remind you of, show, show you
due to the fact that	as, because, because of, for, since
during such time, during the course of, during the time	during, when, while
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effect many changes	change
except when	unless
excessive number of	too many
extend an invitation	invite
for the purpose of	for, of, to
for the reason that	because, for, since
for the sum of	for
give and take	compromise, concession, discussion, exchange
give an indication of	hint, show, signal, suggest
give consideration to	consider
has no	lacks
has the capability	can
have an effect on	affect
hold a conference, hold a meeting	confer, meet
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in addition	also
in addition to	also, and, as well as, besides, beyond
in advance of	before, by (or be specific)
in a timely manner	at once, on time, quickly
in an effort to	to
in conjunction with	and, with
in connection with	about, in, of, on, over, with
in lieu of	for, instead of
in most cases, in most instances	mostly, most of these, often, usually
in order to	to
in place of	for
in (the) possession of	has, have
in reference to	about, for, on
in regard to; in relation to	about, for, on; about, in, on, to, toward, with
in respect of	about, for, of
in spite of (the fact that)	although, despite
in terms of	about, at, by, for, in, with
in the amount of	for, of, the
in the context of	about, for, in, of
in the course of	at, during, in, while
in the event that	if, when (not if and when)
in the (very near) (not too distant) future	soon
in the vicinity of	about, around, close to, in, near, round
in this day and age	nowadays, today
in view of the fact	because, since
it would appear that	apparently, clearly, obviously, plainly, seemingly
it is probable that	probably
limited number	few
located in, located on	in, on, found
made a statement	said
make a decision, make a determination	control, decide, discover, find out, end, fix, settle
make an application	apply
make an examination of	examine
make reference to	refer to
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none at all	none
not in a position to	cannot, can't, unable to
notwithstanding the fact that	although, despite, even if, however
of major importance	are important, is important, was important
on a daily basis, on a regular basis	daily, regularly
on behalf of	backed, for, supported
one of the	a, an, one
on most occasions	usually
on the part of	among, by, for, of
over the duration of	during
per annum	a year, yearly, annually
per capita	a person, a head
per diem	a day, daily, daily allowance, for each day
Please find enclosed (or attached) ...	I am enclosing ..., I am attaching ...
present time	now, present
prior to	before, ahead of
provided that	if, provided
pursuant to	by, following, under
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realize a savings of	save
refer to as	call, name, term
regards to, as regards, with regard to	about, as for, for, in, of, on, over, respecting, to, toward, with
relating to	about, on
result in	lead to
short supply	scarce
some of the	some
spell out	describe, detail, explain, specify, show
state with confidence	use a form of be confident
subsequent, subsequent to	after, following, later, next, resulting, then
sufficient number of	enough, plenty
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take action	act
take exception to	challenge, disagree (with), dispute, object
take into consideration	consider
The undersigned ...	I, me, we, us
this office	I, me, we, us
time frame	age, era, interval, period, time
to a certain degree	in part, less often, less so, partially, some
to a large degree	largely
to whatever extent	however
under the provisions of	by, under
until such time	until, when
use up	use
was of the opinion that	believed, said, thought
we are of the opinion	we believe, we think
whether or not	whether
with a view to	to
with reference to	about, for, on (or leave out)
with regard to	about, for, on (or leave out)

Wordy phrase replacements

Guide to concise writing

Avoid these ...

Try these instead ...