10 great words to use instead of “busy”
Are you tired of being busy? Why not try a new word or an expression which describes your level of busyness a little more precisely. Here are some alternatives which allow you to better express exactly how busy you are and how soon you are likely to be available. There is, after all, a world of difference between being “a little tied up” and being “completely snowed under”.
10 alternative expressions
1. Tied up
Example: I’m a little tied up with this new project.
Nuance: Busy
2. Occupied
Example: She’s a bit occupied today dealing with new staff.
3. Overstretched
Example: He’s slightly overstretched at the moment.
4. Over-extended
Example: She’s quite over-extended in this particular role.
5. Overloaded
Example: We’re rather overloaded with all these new cases.
Nuance: Very busy
Example: They’ve been completely swamped with new customers this week.
7. Snowed under
Example: He’s been snowed under with complaints.
Nuance: Extremely busy
8. To have enough/rather a lot/too much on one’s plate at the moment
9. To have other/bigger fish to fry
Nuance: To have more important things to do
10. To have other priorities today/this week /this month
Nuance: To have more important things to do
Use qualifiers or modifiers for greater precision
The following qualifiers can be used interchangeably with expressions 1- 7 above
• A little
• A bit
• Slightly
• Quite
• Rather
• Completely
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