✅ Fair refers to treating all sides in a situation, argument, or dispute exactly the same (The captain was fair to all members of the crew).

✅ Impartial refers to treating all sides equally, and suggests judging the situation in order to come to a balanced conclusion (an impartial judge).

✅ Impartial suggests independence and a complete lack of bias. Fair suggests the intent to treat all sides the same, even if there is the potential for bias (He promised to be fair and not side with his friend automatically; We asked a stranger so that we got an impartial opinion).

✅ Impartial generally suggests some kind of formal judgment, whereas fair can be used in a wider variety of circumstances (The committee was impartial; My partner was fair in their judgment of my cupcakes).

Try writing about an impartial judge in a cooking competition with the help of our writing tool Grammar Coach.

✅ Deny refers to asserting that something is untrue (deny the accusation).

✅ Contradict refers to asserting that the opposite is true (She contradicted his story).

✅ Deny refers to simply saying that something is untrue, whereas contradict suggests giving an alternate, truthful account (The journalist denied having made up the story; I contradicted his version of events).

✅ Deny is usually used in response to an accusation, and is most often used in legal or other, similar, formal contexts. Contradict is used in a variety of circumstances.

Write about a time you contradicted someone, with the help of our Grammar Coach.

✅ Cure refers to healing a sickness or disease (Paracetamol will cure your headache).

✅ Cure can be used literally or metaphorically, and generally implies healing or fixing something permanently (Meditation won’t cure all your problems).

✅ Remedy most often refers to fixing something that is wrong, not necessarily an illness, and suggests fixing it in such a way that solves the problem or makes things better (We’re trying to remedy the situation).

✅ Remedy can also refer to healing an illness. In this sense, it implies fixing something temporarily, rather than permanently (Walking will help remedy the strength imbalance in your legs).

Remedy the gaps in your vocabulary with these synonyms.