# Unique Word Counter

Unique Words
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Total Words
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Syllables per Word
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Words per Paragraph
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Letters per Word
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Words per Sentence
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Pages ℹ️Based on an average of 250 words per page.
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Characters
0

## How to use our Unique Word Counter

Start by entering text into the text-box above. The unique word count above the text-box will automatically calculate the count as you type!

Located next to the unique word count is a count of the total words.

To copy the text in the text-box, you can click the green "Copy Text" button.

Additional metrics include syllables per word, words per paragraph, letters per word, words per sentence, pages, and characters.

## Why use a Unique Word Counter Tool?

A unique word calculator or counter tool is helpful to increase the diversity of your vocabulary. It makes writers aware of whether they are varying their words or using the same words all the time, a common sticking point with writers.

## The Importance of Word Choice in Writing

One of the most interesting things about writing in the English language is the sheer number of words available.

The estimated number of words in the language varies widely, depending on the source, but the range is roughly 470,000 to 600,000 words. With figures like that, there should certainly be enough available to fill any need a writer might have.

On the other hand, those numbers can easily be a curse as well as a blessing to a writer. There are just so many to choose from, and a good portion of them mean the same, or close to the same thing.

More importantly though, choosing the right words is critical to the effectiveness of your writing.

## Why Word Choice Matters

The words you choose affect your writing in many ways. Readability is the issue, but that generalization may not be helpful. Let's try to break that term down into more specific causes and effects.

Comprehension: One of the major factors in the readability of a piece of work is how well the writing suits the vocabulary of your readers.

If your choices are too far above the level of your audience's understanding, they become stumbling blocks.

If you choose words too far below that level, aside from being boring, some readers may see it as condescending.

Engagement: This is probably the primary consideration in any written work, in any genre. If it doesn't grab and hold the attention of the audience, there's no chance it's going to be effective.

Whether you're a marketing writer or a poet, it's important to find words with enough impact to keep your readers on the page.

Avoiding Redundancy: One of the best ways to bore an audience is to repeat words or phrases too often. Since boredom isn't usually the goal, it's often a good idea to find the words to say something another way.

Rhyming: For poets and songwriters, there will be countless occasions when finding the right word means rhyming with another word, while expressing the intended meaning.

Establishing expertise: When you're writing as an expert in any topic, using words specific to the topic is critical.

Words that might not be a part of the average individual's vocabulary can be helpful, but be careful not to insult the intelligence of your readers with too many advanced terms. It's important to strike a healthy balance.

Mood/Tone: The "attitude" of your writing will set the overall tone of your piece. Your word choices can greatly affect the mood induced. That's an important consideration and can vary, according to the purpose of your writing.

For instance, you may want to generate an upbeat tone for an article announcing a new product or a motivational letter to employees.

If you're writing a fictional horror story, you'll want to set a darker, more foreboding tone. I could present many more examples, but the point is, choose words that support the mood you're trying to develop.

Persuasion: If your writing is going to end with a call to action, such as, "buy this", "vote for this", "call your State Senator" or similar, you need to convince your audience before you ask anything of them.

The most persuasive writers use words that instill an urgent need to do what they're going to ask their readers to do.

## How to Find the Right Words

Here's another interesting bit of trivia: The average adult's vocabulary is estimated to be around 32,000 words. (Challenge: how close can you get to 32,000 with our unique word counter?) That will vary greatly among individuals, of course, and the average writer will hopefully have more to work with.

Either way, it's a far cry from 600,000. We also tend to forget words we haven't used for some time, and that tendency increases with age.

So, what's a writer to do when searching for those important words? How do we build and retain our vocabularies? There are a few answers, and I'll start with the most obvious.

Use a Thesaurus: There was a time when every prospective and working writer had a copy of "Roget's Thesaurus" on the writing desk. I still have one, but it's more of a keepsake than a tool these days.

Thanks to technology, there are several online versions from different wordsmiths and publishers available now, and they're constantly updated, as is the English language. You don't even have to bookmark one to use it.

While writing this article, I wanted to use a word similar to "convincing" to introduce an idea. I simply typed the word into my browser's address bar, which is set to automatically use a popular search engine if I don't enter a URL.

When I hit Enter, I received a nicely formatted page from the online Oxford dictionary, which included several synonyms along with the definition. "Persuasive" was the one I chose, and I used it in the appropriate form, "persuasion", as above. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

Read often: As a writer, one of your most valuable assets is reading material. The more you read, the more "new" words you'll encounter. Learning the meaning of them to use in your own writing isn't plagiarism, unless, of course, the writer coined a new term. In that case, you may want to ask permission to use it.

Write often: Writers write. Those two words have been quoted more times than I care to count. Nevertheless, they're absolutely true. Writing is a craft that improves with practice and that includes using new words.

As you write and proofread, consider whether there's a better word to express something. When you find it, use it. It's a simple formula that will improve the effectiveness of anything you create.

Crossword puzzles: You may be surprised that I'd recommend a "game", but good crossword puzzles involve both reading and writing and can be a great source of new words.

Vocabulary Apps: There are many free apps available designed to strengthen your vocabulary. Many of them are similar to learning flashcards and you can separate more challenging words into separate categories.

I hope you'll find the suggestions in this article useful in making your writing more enjoyable and effective for your readers. Focusing on the right words may be the most important step in that process.

## Thanks for using our Unique Word Calculator tool

We hope you enjoy it, let us know if you have any questions or comments! Have fun counting your unique words with our unique word counter! And if you need more metrics, please use the character counter on our home page.