is the word however or nonetheless a stronger word in writing?

Question

is the word however or nonetheless a stronger word in writing?

Answer 1

Hi, Gahij!

I would probably use "however" in most circumstances. "Nonetheless," or "nevertheless" are fine to use, but I feel that they give one's writing a stodgier feeling. Compare this sentence taken from Wiktionary:

"She wanted to go; however, she decided against it."

Compare that to

"She wanted to go; nonetheless, she decided against it."

It's not the worst possible word choice; both are fine. However, in my opinion, the latter doesn't flow as well as the former.

A lot of it, is, however, personal preference. "Nonetheless" has its uses, but I would recommend using "however," most of the time.