“In other words” helps us to simplify our thought process. It gives us a chance to explain something in a slightly more appetizing way for the reader. However, this article will look into some better alternatives that might suit you more in your own writing.
What Can I Say Instead Of “In Other Words”?
We have plenty of choices when it comes to replacing “in other words.” You might benefit from trying out one of the following:
- Simply put
- That is to say
- Put another way
- Said differently
- Stated differently
- Otherwise known as
- To put it differently
- To put the matter another way
- Otherwise
- Namely
- Put differently
- Alternatively
The preferred version is “simply put.” We can use this when we want to explain something in more “simple” terms, which helps our readers to grasp difficult ideas. It’s a great way to replace “in other words” that everyone understands.
Simply Put
“Simply put” is a really useful way to make our writing easier to understand. It helps because it stops our language from being overly complicated, which is ideal when we want to make sure every reader has the basic knowledge to understand what we are saying.
Some of the following examples should help you to make more sense of it:
- Simply put, I do not think it would help the cause to do something so drastic.
- Simply put, I enjoy the finer things in life, and there is no reason why you can’t either.
- Simply put, someone must be to blame for this error, and I will find out who.
That Is To Say
“That is to say” is a common and formal way to explain something in another way. It doesn’t always simplify the original text, but it usually gives the reader slightly more chance to understand the context or what is going on.
Here are a few examples that show how this phrase works:
- The birthplace of my father, that is to say, the hospital on Third Street has been shut down for renovation.
- The king himself, that is to say, King John thought it was time to pay us a visit.
- You shouldn’t have told him that, that is to say because he doesn’t need to know anything more about it!
Put Another Way
“Put another way” works well when we want to write our words differently. Again, this is important for many written pieces because it helps all readers to understand us regardless of their personal knowledge or experience related to the topic.
These examples should help you to make a little more sense of it:
- Put another way; we think it would help for you to do your own research into these matters before passing judgment.
- Put another way, someone thought that it would help them, but we determined that they only wasted their time.
- Put another way, I didn’t want to spoil the ending, so I made sure to keep everything as light as possible about the plot.
Said Differently
“Said differently” works well because it allows us to phrase something in another way. Usually, this secondary way to “say” something helps readers who aren’t as familiar with jargon or confusing language (which makes our writing more inclusive).
“Said differently” is a great example of explaining things in more simple ways. We don’t expressly tell the reader that it’s “simpler,” but the implication is that we’re trying to be as inclusive as possible to help all of our potential fans and readers in some way.
It would help for you to check out the following examples to see how it works:
- Said differently, you must make sure to bake the potatoes for 30 minutes, and the packaging makes a mistake.
- Said differently, it wasn’t very difficult for us to come to this conclusion.
- Said differently, someone else thought it was a wise choice, but we corrected them.
Stated Differently
“Stated differently” is almost identical to the one we used above. “Stated” and “said” are identical verbs we can use to show that someone is making a point. While we aren’t strictly “speaking” in our writing, we are “stating,” which is why this one works too.
These examples should help you to make more sense of it:
- Stated differently, there are many other people out there who can help you to understand more about it.
- Stated differently for those not in the know, we want you all to be welcomed when you arrive at the castle.
- Stated differently, we found it difficult to find anyone else who could relate to the problems we were having.
Otherwise Known As
“Otherwise known as” works in specific situations. We use it when we want to use a different name for something. Usually, this refers to people or things that have specific names that are often more recognizable than their own descriptions.
Some examples might help you to understand this:
- The leader singer of Queen, otherwise known as Freddie Mercury, was a bit of an enigma.
- The intelligence of the man, otherwise known as Einstein, was almost incomprehensible for everyone around him at the time.
- The great ship, otherwise known as the Titanic, suffered an unfortunate fate at the hands of an iceberg.
To Put It Differently
“To put it differently” is another good way to utilize the adverb “differently.” We do this when we want to come up with other examples or explanations of something. It helps our readers in many different ways.
These examples should be all the help you need:
- To put it differently, have you ever tried to skin a cat? Apparently, there is more than one way to do it.
- To put it differently, the coding didn’t make any sense, and we had to scrap it.
- To put it differently, there wasn’t anything else we could do to remedy the situation.
To Put The Matter Another Way
“To put the matter another way” is a slightly longer way of repeating “put another way.” We can use this when talking about “matters,” which are similar to explaining how certain things might take place (and how we can explain them easier for everyone).
Here are a few ways you can see it work:
- To put the matter another way, I think it would be wise for you to try and speak to him again.
- To put the matter another way, I don’t think you should give up just yet.
- To put the matter another way, we shouldn’t keep arguing about these mundane things!
Otherwise
“Otherwise” doesn’t always need other words to accompany it. Sometimes, the word on its own is more than enough to help us understand a different meaning of something. It’s good to include this in a parenthetical clause that explains more about something.
These examples will show you more about how it works:
- The French maiden, otherwise Julia Warden, did not want to be disturbed on that night.
- The king, otherwise King George III, was a bit difficult for many people to understand.
- You stand there, otherwise forgotten about, thinking about all the people who you betrayed not so long ago!
Namely
“Namely” works well when we want to specify the thing we previously spoke about. Usually, we give it a “name” that is more recognizable for most people. This makes it much easier for many people to understand what we are writing.
These examples might help you to make more sense of it:
- I didn’t think you’d have it in you. Namely, because you are the least confident and aggressive person I’ve ever met.
- We couldn’t figure out a way to complete the experiment. Namely, we did not have the correct resources for it.
- The baron, namely John Forth III, was not happy that people did not want to be his ally during the civil conflict.
Put Differently
“Put differently” is another way to write something. This time, we use “put” as the verb and “differently” as the adverb, which helps us to come up with a new way to write something. Again, it’s always to help aid our reader’s understanding.
Here are some great examples to help you understand it:
- Put differently; perhaps it would be more beneficial for you to listen to your friends and family about this.
- Put differently; I do not think it was wise for you to make such a foolhardy error.
- Put differently; there are many ways that we can make it easier for the elderly population to continue to be as comfortable as possible.
Alternatively
“Alternatively” works well when we want to show how something might be explained differently. We do this by giving an “alternative” option that otherwise might have been missed. This usually helps to make the information more readable for the average learner.
Here are a few ways we can use this phrase:
- Alternatively, you might be more familiar with the methods of practice listed below.
- We have many different ways to measure the frequency of the wave. Alternatively, you can just stick to the simplest of all.
- Alternatively, you might be familiar with the musings of Bach rather than the obscure artists we listed earlier.
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