Complex Word Finder
Paste your writing to find long words (three or more syllables) and wording the Federal Plain Language Guidelines would simplify — utilize, commence, in order to, prior to. Each match comes with the plainer words the guidelines suggest, and one click swaps them in. Free, no sign-up.
Runs entirely in your browser — your text is never uploaded.
Words or phrases you want left alone, separated by commas or new lines. Click Keep on a result to add it here.
Paste or type some text to find long words and wording the plain-language guidelines would simplify.
How to Use the Complex Word Finder
- Paste your text. The check runs as you type and nothing leaves your browser.
- Read the colours. Amber marks wording on the plain-language list, such as utilize or prior to, with an alternative on hand. Blue marks other long words. Hover over a highlight for the alternative or the syllable count.
- Swap or keep. Under Simpler wording available, click an alternative to replace every occurrence, in the same verb form and the same capitalisation. Click Keep for a word you want to leave alone, such as a technical term.
- Check the long words. The table lists long words with no listed alternative, longest first. If a shorter word means the same, use it; if it is the exact term, keep it.
Two Lists, Two Different Jobs
Long words are found by counting syllables. A word counts as complex when it has three or more, using the definition from the Gunning fog index: proper nouns, hyphenated compounds and ALL-CAPS words do not count, and an -ing, -ed or -es ending does not add a syllable, so walking and created are not complex while comprehensive is. Syllables are counted by rule, which is right for most words and wrong for a few borrowed ones, so the table shows the count it used. You can raise the bar to four syllables to see only the longest words.
The plain-language list is different: it matches specific words and phrases, long or short, that the guidelines say have a simpler equivalent. In order to has no long word in it, yet to does the same job. The list is adapted from the guidelines' page Use simple words and phrases, which is a public-domain US government work. Verbs are matched in every form: utilize, utilizes, utilized and utilizing all give use, uses, used and using.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| utilize | use |
| in order to | to |
| prior to | before |
| facilitate | ease, help |
| endeavor | try |
| ascertain | find out, learn |
| demonstrate | prove, show |
| sufficient | enough |
| additional | added, more, other |
| proficiency | skill |
A Worked Example
The widget's example paragraph — We will utilize a comprehensive methodology in order to facilitate participation… — has 37 words, 11 matches on the plain-language list and 15 long words, 41% of the text. Rewritten as We will use a thorough method so more people can take part. Before the study starts, the investigators will try to check each participant's eligibility…, it has 34 words, no list matches and 3 long words, about 9%. The three that remain — eligibility, investigators and participant's — are the precise terms, which is the point: the aim is not zero long words but no long word without a reason.
When a Long Word Is the Right Word
- Technical terms. Methodology, photosynthesis and heteroscedasticity have no shorter synonym. Add them to Words to keep so they stop being flagged.
- Precision. Participants is exact; people is not. Demonstrate and show differ in how much proof they claim.
- Your field's register. The list was written for government documents. In a research paper some entries, such as however or previous, are ordinary; others, such as utilize for use, are padding in every field.
- Audience. A paper for specialists can carry more long words than a plain-language summary for the public; the Readability Score Checker shows the effect on grade level.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a complex word?
- In the Gunning fog index, a complex word has three or more syllables, not counting proper nouns, hyphenated compounds, or an -es, -ed or -ing ending. This tool uses that definition by default and adds the words and phrases on the Federal Plain Language Guidelines list, which can be short (in order to) or long (facilitate).
- Is using long words bad writing?
- No. A long word is often the exact one, and academic prose naturally contains more of them. The problem is a long word where a short one would do, such as utilize for use. The checker highlights candidates; the choice stays with you.
- Where does the plain-language word list come from?
- It is adapted from Use simple words and phrases in the Federal Plain Language Guidelines, which sit in the public domain as a US government work. Entries that suit agency memos rather than prose, or that are ordinary nouns, are left out. The full original is on the Digital.gov plain language guide.
- What is the dirty dozen?
- The guidelines single out twelve words and phrases as the offenders most likely to weaken writing, including utilize, commence, implement, assist, in accordance with, in order that, in the amount of and in the event of. The checker badges those it finds.
- How are syllables counted?
- By rules: vowel groups, minus a silent final e, with corrections for vowel pairs that split (idea, radio), endings like -tion and -ed, and a table of words the rules get wrong. It is accurate for most everyday and academic vocabulary but not perfect, so the syllable count is shown beside each long word.
- Will it change my meaning if I click an alternative?
- It replaces the word and puts a verb in the same form, but it cannot read your sentence. Demonstrate becoming show usually works; demonstrate becoming prove claims more. Read each replacement in context, and note that a few verbs need a different ending or helper word afterwards.
- Is my text sent anywhere?
- No. The word lists and syllable rules run in your browser, so the same text always gets the same result and nothing is uploaded.