"Unique" is a word that should not take any qualifiers (words like very, a little, somewhat, etc.). "Unique" means "one of a kind." Something either is or is not one of a kind. If there are two of an object, then the object is not unique. Copies of the Declaration of Independence printed in 1776 might be rare, but they are not "unique." More than one exists. Ergo, any copy is not unique.
Years ago, I had a student argue for an entire term that she was "very unique." While she certainly worked very hard at being different, and while every student is unique in his or her own way, neither she nor anyone else is "very unique." The logic is all wrong! How can you be "very" one of a kind? While we immediately see the problem when we hear someone talk about a "dead corpse" (is there such a thing as a living corpse?), many speakers and writers don't recognize the incongruity of amplifying "unique." When we add the adverb we are in fact weakening the language--and the value we place on originality.
If I had my druthers, I would argue that writers cull the word "very" from their vocabularies entirely. Find the right shade of meaning and you don't need to amplify. Visit the Visual Thesaurus website (a wonderful tool for writers) to find the word with exactly the right nuance, and you can eliminate the pesky little word while making a greater impact on your reader. In that way, you can be unique (no modifier required).
great post. never thought about it that way.
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