There’s an enemy among us: Overused words. Overused words are blogging parasites that are hellbent are turning every blog into sounding like it was composed by somebody from this movie. We’re all guilty of using (and abusing) them, so in an effort to quash this bad habit, we’ve composed a list of words that are no longer welcome in (y)our blogs.
Groundbreaking: We know that something like curing cancer or a change in civil rights laws can be truly considering groundbreaking. Fine. But most of us use it to describe the new Apple product or our favorite smartphone app and that’s just wrong. See also GAME CHANGER, INNOVATIVE and REVOLUTIONARY
Fail: Unless you are 11 years old and you’re referring to a skateboarding trick gone awry, you are no longer permitted to use the word “fail.” We love it, too, but it’s time to let it go back to the schoolyard. You’ll be okay. We promise. See also EPIC, EPIC FAIL and BEAST
Literally: We’ve literally beaten this word into submission and literally overused to the point it no longer means anything. So now we must bury it forever. Literally. See also TOTALLY, SERIOUSLY and I KNOW RIGHT
Awesome: Recently voted the most overused word in the English language, awesome is fun to use in a sarcastic manner. But ultimately everything awesome has been awesome for so long that the word no longer has any value. See also AMAZING
Leader/Leading: The PR word of choice to describe everything from an actual leader to something that couldn’t lead if it tried, “leader” and its verb cousin “leading” are words we simply don’t trust when they appear in front of a brand. And that’s a problem. See also EXPERT
Dynamic: Another PR crutch, dynamic is a grand and fun word that should be used to describe something incredible and complex, not some CEO who’s trying to pimp his self-help book. See also FASCINATING and COMPLEX
Awkward: Sadly, this is a great word but it’s been overused. Baby giraffes trying to walk, teenage boys as a species, your ex showing up with your best friend at a party are all awkward — we agree. But thanks to seeing this word everywhere, we’ll just have to find new ways to describe them. See also UNCOMFORTABLE
Random: Random, when used to describe something that is “without definite aim, direction, rule, or method” is acceptable. Random used to describe things that are awful or that actually can be explained is not. Use sparingly and appropriately or you’ll lose the privilege completely. Don’t test us.
Does this mean we’ll never use “awesome” again? Probably not, but we’ll try to cut back. In the meantime, what are some of the words and phrases that make you crazy? Let us hear all of your groundbreaking, amazing thoughts in the comments section below!
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