Friday Fun: Name Your Top 5 Most Trite, Overused Adjectives and Adverbs
By Roberta Rosenberg on Feb 1, 2008 in DM Copy Tips & Tools, Web Copy Tips & Tools
Maybe I’m just being cranky, but if I receive one more copywriting/marketing newsletter or email that uses the adjective “sizzling” anywhere in the copy I think I’ll just put the gun in my mouth and pull the trigger.
Okay, a little melodramatic, but I’m sure you get my point. I think I’m completely over-stuffed on this sort of lazy, over-the-top !!! kind of marcomm writing. So let’s have a little fun and tell me your top 5 of adjectives/adverb descriptors that make you nuts to read … and that you promise only to use sparingly, very very sparingly — and only when you really mean it.
We’ll all share. Here’s my current 5:
- Sizzling
- Explosive
- Fantastic
- Awesome
- Red hot
Your turn 
- Enjoyed this post? Get free updates by email or RSS
- Need a copy critique or a consult? Contact the Maven
- The ultimate guide to writing and designing effective landing pages - Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Handbook, 2008 (aff)
[tags] copywriting cliches, lazy adjectives and adverbs [/tags]
Andrew B. Clark | Feb 1, 2008 | Reply
OH! I LOVE the English language - although I’ve been known to slaughter it from time-to-time…
Schoolhouse Rock! (http://www.school-house-rock.com/Adj.html)
Here are my current 5:
1. Phenomenal (I tend use it too much)
2. Hot (Paris killed that one for me)
3. one-of-a-kind (Too many car ads)
4. once-in-a-lifetime (and how do they know?)
and the worst!
5. guaranteed
Great thinking post.
Keep Cooking!
Andrew
BadManSports | Feb 1, 2008 | Reply
This is an even worse problem in my realm - sports writing.
1) thunderous
2) blazing
3) heroic
4) herculean
5) ….
Amanda | Feb 2, 2008 | Reply
Great post!
For me, “buzz” and just about anything included in free e-books about marketing that are made to sell you on a “program.”
I’m beginning to be a real fan of simple, clear writing that explains instead of sells.
XX
reuben | Feb 4, 2008 | Reply
Awesome is public enemy no 1! And though this is a little off the grammatically beaten path, if I hear one more person use “pretty much”….
Eamon | Feb 5, 2008 | Reply
Plus adjectives should be avoided in creative writing as well ..
Tom Chandler/Copywriter Underground | Feb 5, 2008 | Reply
1. State of the art
2. Hyper-anything
Honorable mention to “Integrated” and its evil twin “Highly integrated.”
Ms. Single Mama | Feb 14, 2008 | Reply
If I hear or read “the possibilities are endless” one more time I think I’ll puke.
My Top 5 over-used words:
incredible
fantastic
opportunity
unique
feel
Mark Steinborn | Feb 26, 2008 | Reply
When I was a kid the English teachers used to warn us about “verbal crutches.” The worst offender of the time was “you know,” inserted in a sentence so the speaker could indicate he (or she) still wanted the floor, but didn’t know he what to say next. Canadians of the time were famous for inserting “eh?” into every other sentence. (If you remember these crutches, you know how old I am.)
We’re seeing the same kinds of verbal crutches transferred to the marketing sphere with the lists supplied here. Basically, the writer doesn’t know what to say next, so he inserts a trite, overused, banal word that lets the reader know there’s more writing to come… although for my part, by the time I see the word “awesome” or “sizzling” on a my screen, I’m on to the next Web page.