Top 10: Most Overused Words
I did not write this article. I just wish to expose it.
No.10 - Love/Hate
Is there a garden around? Because these words have been watered down to the point of no return. And it’s all because people have been slowly accepting them as reasonable alternatives to describe fondness (or lack thereof). Love and hate both involved descriptions of serious passion or emotion at one time; now they’re just used as slang-fodder for anything to make a poetic statement. Let’s restore the prestige of these once-great expressions and lay off their usage, say, 95% of the time. That ought to help.
No.9 - Literally
Literally is another word that has been misconstrued into a bastardized form. When the exact reason to use the word is to express a non-exaggeration or a realistic degree of accuracy, why do people do the exact opposite? Literally is now used as a general intensive, and its very meaning has become lost and meaningless. Literally is meant to only be used when describing something verbatim, or for a correct technical explanation. It is not a synonym for figuratively or virtually. Let’s keep it as such.
No.8 - Ridiculous
The only thing ridiculous about this overused word is the number of times it’s used in everyday speak. Ridiculous means laughable, deserving of ridicule or something just downright preposterous. Now, while people tend to get the meaning (vaguely) correct for this one, four-syllable words like this are best saved for situations where things truly are absurd -- if your dog ate your homework, that’s ridiculous because it’s almost worthy of a laugh. There are better words to use than this tongue twister and no, “ri-donk-ulous” is not one of them.
No.7 - Awesome
Are we stuck in the '80s? Can someone please explain why this expression is so commonly used as slang rather than as a proper adjective? Awesome can be lumped into the same cheese club with other un-cool terms such as radical, cowabunga and gnarly.
Awesome is supposed to be used to express a show of force or majesty. When your friend comes back with a six-pack of beer, responding with this reprehensible utterance just doesn’t match up to the awe of a powerful tornado or when viewing one of the top 10 American landmarks. Nice try, though.
No.6 - Whatever
Here’s the problem with the word whatever -- depending on the tone you use, it’s used by a variety of hipsters looking to disagree. Guys use it to downplay a video game defeat or a sports loss. Girlfriends use it angrily to stone their boyfriend’s opinion. And, when combined with a preamble such as like (which is also on this list of most overused words), it’s used by pink-purse-toting glamour girls to display surprise or enjoyment. Whatever the context (and that’s a proper use of the term), it is overused and ruining otherwise meaningful conversation.
No.5 - Bitch
It was only a matter of time before one of English’s finest derogatory terms became banter for the common man. And all it took was a few malicious hijackings to make this one of the most overused words out there. Normally used to describe a female canine, it’s evolved as an insult to women in contempt, an anchor lyric in hip-hop culture or as ubiquitous slang for those lower in the prison pecking order. This is in addition to other uses such as bitch slap, son of a bitch, bitching, and riding bitch. Our evolution as a species continues at a jaw-dropping pace.
No.4 - Seriously
Another word that is used for more emphasis than most things deserve is the almost-a-question-but-more-of-a-statement seriously. It’s usually used in the manner of disbelief with a sarcastic tone when used as a question, or as an emphasis for a thought or future action. Either way, the word has become overused by the average conversationalist, and now verges on overkill as teenager or hipster jargon. And, when combined with other language fillers (such as dude or like), any actual seriousness this word used to offer is completely thrown out the window.
No.3 - Gay
Gay lost its meaning a long time ago in mainstream conversation, right around when the Village People began thrusting suggestively in colorful unison. Of course, that’s just one of many examples, but the word gay was originally meant to be jovial or in good spirits and, as we all know, now refers to homosexuality and its associated culture. All was good for a time, but the word was kidnapped, hog-tied and beaten down by pop culture to make reference to anything that was stupid, unfortunate or even an attempt to buff up one’s own masculinity (or hide insecurities -- you decide). Gay has lost its way.
No.2 - Nice
Here’s another bit of verbal overkill that has unfortunately lost its purpose. This once-friendly word has now been turned into a fallback excuse to tell people you’re not interested in their conversation. A lot of people who can’t listen, or refuse to listen, will drop this after someone tells a story, gives an anecdote or makes a comment. “Nice” they’ll respond, as in “OK, I have nothing to say to that.” The worst part is when the listener uses it as a means to end the conversation or to indirectly suggest an end to the current conversation. For this reason, it’s become a form of excuse, and has now fallen into the realm of overused words -- and is a compliment no more.
No.1 - Like
How this word is still used as a standard in the English language is astounding. People have been using the word like so liberally for the last 15 years that it’s become so commonplace no one even knows when they actually say it. It’s a sixth sense for scores of slang-tongued hipsters.
Originally used as an adjective to describe comparison, its slow and painful conversion to an interjection is now dominating conversations for any Gen X- or Y-er that grew up with two-star-rated (or less) dumb blonde movies. The only saving grace for this word is that when someone uses it too much, people will have no problem calling you out on it and exposing the below-average nature of this verbal ear sore.
Honorable mention
LOL
“Laughing out loud” or “lots of laughs” is probably the most popular acronym used by web-savvy keyboard warriors when instant messaging or chatting with friends online. Unfortunately, much like other viral software code, this short-form description has spiraled out of control as l33t speak on the internet (the actual term for internet “talk”). Now you can’t browse a web page or a blog without LOL being used somewhere, and thus aggravating proponents of proper e-English worldwide.
This article can be found on the website: http://ca.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment/top-10-most-overused-words_10.html
No.10 - Love/Hate
Is there a garden around? Because these words have been watered down to the point of no return. And it’s all because people have been slowly accepting them as reasonable alternatives to describe fondness (or lack thereof). Love and hate both involved descriptions of serious passion or emotion at one time; now they’re just used as slang-fodder for anything to make a poetic statement. Let’s restore the prestige of these once-great expressions and lay off their usage, say, 95% of the time. That ought to help.
No.9 - Literally
Literally is another word that has been misconstrued into a bastardized form. When the exact reason to use the word is to express a non-exaggeration or a realistic degree of accuracy, why do people do the exact opposite? Literally is now used as a general intensive, and its very meaning has become lost and meaningless. Literally is meant to only be used when describing something verbatim, or for a correct technical explanation. It is not a synonym for figuratively or virtually. Let’s keep it as such.
No.8 - Ridiculous
The only thing ridiculous about this overused word is the number of times it’s used in everyday speak. Ridiculous means laughable, deserving of ridicule or something just downright preposterous. Now, while people tend to get the meaning (vaguely) correct for this one, four-syllable words like this are best saved for situations where things truly are absurd -- if your dog ate your homework, that’s ridiculous because it’s almost worthy of a laugh. There are better words to use than this tongue twister and no, “ri-donk-ulous” is not one of them.
No.7 - Awesome
Are we stuck in the '80s? Can someone please explain why this expression is so commonly used as slang rather than as a proper adjective? Awesome can be lumped into the same cheese club with other un-cool terms such as radical, cowabunga and gnarly.
Awesome is supposed to be used to express a show of force or majesty. When your friend comes back with a six-pack of beer, responding with this reprehensible utterance just doesn’t match up to the awe of a powerful tornado or when viewing one of the top 10 American landmarks. Nice try, though.
No.6 - Whatever
Here’s the problem with the word whatever -- depending on the tone you use, it’s used by a variety of hipsters looking to disagree. Guys use it to downplay a video game defeat or a sports loss. Girlfriends use it angrily to stone their boyfriend’s opinion. And, when combined with a preamble such as like (which is also on this list of most overused words), it’s used by pink-purse-toting glamour girls to display surprise or enjoyment. Whatever the context (and that’s a proper use of the term), it is overused and ruining otherwise meaningful conversation.
No.5 - Bitch
It was only a matter of time before one of English’s finest derogatory terms became banter for the common man. And all it took was a few malicious hijackings to make this one of the most overused words out there. Normally used to describe a female canine, it’s evolved as an insult to women in contempt, an anchor lyric in hip-hop culture or as ubiquitous slang for those lower in the prison pecking order. This is in addition to other uses such as bitch slap, son of a bitch, bitching, and riding bitch. Our evolution as a species continues at a jaw-dropping pace.
No.4 - Seriously
Another word that is used for more emphasis than most things deserve is the almost-a-question-but-more-of-a-statement seriously. It’s usually used in the manner of disbelief with a sarcastic tone when used as a question, or as an emphasis for a thought or future action. Either way, the word has become overused by the average conversationalist, and now verges on overkill as teenager or hipster jargon. And, when combined with other language fillers (such as dude or like), any actual seriousness this word used to offer is completely thrown out the window.
No.3 - Gay
Gay lost its meaning a long time ago in mainstream conversation, right around when the Village People began thrusting suggestively in colorful unison. Of course, that’s just one of many examples, but the word gay was originally meant to be jovial or in good spirits and, as we all know, now refers to homosexuality and its associated culture. All was good for a time, but the word was kidnapped, hog-tied and beaten down by pop culture to make reference to anything that was stupid, unfortunate or even an attempt to buff up one’s own masculinity (or hide insecurities -- you decide). Gay has lost its way.
No.2 - Nice
Here’s another bit of verbal overkill that has unfortunately lost its purpose. This once-friendly word has now been turned into a fallback excuse to tell people you’re not interested in their conversation. A lot of people who can’t listen, or refuse to listen, will drop this after someone tells a story, gives an anecdote or makes a comment. “Nice” they’ll respond, as in “OK, I have nothing to say to that.” The worst part is when the listener uses it as a means to end the conversation or to indirectly suggest an end to the current conversation. For this reason, it’s become a form of excuse, and has now fallen into the realm of overused words -- and is a compliment no more.
No.1 - Like
How this word is still used as a standard in the English language is astounding. People have been using the word like so liberally for the last 15 years that it’s become so commonplace no one even knows when they actually say it. It’s a sixth sense for scores of slang-tongued hipsters.
Originally used as an adjective to describe comparison, its slow and painful conversion to an interjection is now dominating conversations for any Gen X- or Y-er that grew up with two-star-rated (or less) dumb blonde movies. The only saving grace for this word is that when someone uses it too much, people will have no problem calling you out on it and exposing the below-average nature of this verbal ear sore.
Honorable mention
LOL
“Laughing out loud” or “lots of laughs” is probably the most popular acronym used by web-savvy keyboard warriors when instant messaging or chatting with friends online. Unfortunately, much like other viral software code, this short-form description has spiraled out of control as l33t speak on the internet (the actual term for internet “talk”). Now you can’t browse a web page or a blog without LOL being used somewhere, and thus aggravating proponents of proper e-English worldwide.
This article can be found on the website: http://ca.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment/top-10-most-overused-words_10.html