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Plain English Thesaurus

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Searching for words starting with "s".

43 words found

Instead of This

Try This

sanitary

clean; germ free; healthful

sanitize

clean; clean up; disinfect; make germ-free; wash

saturate

drench; fill; soak

segment

part

select

choose; pick

self-injurious

self-harming

sensation

feeling

several

many

severe and persistent

severe and ongoing

severity

how bad

significant

big; important; major; serious

similar

like

situate

place; put

situated

placed

socialize

make friends; meet; mingle

socioeconomic status

income

solicit

ask for

spacious

big; roomy

spasm

cramp

spontaneous

unplanned

state

say; tell

state of readiness

now ready

status

state

stigma

define as, for example: a negative attitude toward

stigmatize

mark as different or bad

stimulate

arouse; excite; stir up

strategy

plan

stringent

strict; tight

studies (n)

research

subordinate

assistant; helper; staff

subsequent

following; later; next

subsequent to

after

subsequently

after that; later

substantiate

back up; prove; support

suffice

be enough

sufficient

ample; enough; plenty

suffocate

choke; smother

summon

call for; send for

superficial

flimsy; shallow; skin-deep; slight

supersede

replace; take the place of

supply

give; send

symptom

sign

systematic

orderly; regular


Plain Language Medical Dictionary

Looking for ways to clarify medical lingo? Look no further–this tool developed by the University of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library may be just what you need. Simply click on the drop-down menu to browse the list of medical terms, and then select a word to see the plain language alternatives.

Redundant Word and Jargon Buster

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