Why you should not use synonyms as in fiction? New!

Synonyms are fine in prose and fiction. However, to communicate precisely in science using synonyms may confuse the reader and make the text imprecise.

Define concepts and give them correct names. If you call a child a kid, a youngster, offspring, baby, immature person, preschooler, juvenile you just confuse the reader as he/she will start wondering if you talk about the same group of people or some others. If you have said Machine stick to that. Do not use all the other synonyms you may think of to make good prose: Apparatus, appliance, instrument, tool, utensil, device, unit, mechanism, engine, motor...

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