Please, no more gruntjectives
The following list contains adjectives that once modified a noun in a meaningful way. Now they just mean, “I just want to emphasize a noun. Ya know to show that the noun I’m using is special in some way, ya know.” A good example is the word awesome. Awesome originally meant that something inspired awe. A good example is, “Jesus’ miraculous raising Lazarus from the dead was awesome.” If raising someone from the dead doesn’t fill you with awe, I don’t know what would. However, an awesome burger, an awesome movie, etc. only tell us that you liked something.
You might as well grunt when you want to use an adjective. An example would be, “That was a *grunt* burger.
Here is my list of most hated gruntjectives. I’m thankful that some have passed away. Then new two ones take their place like the on the mythological Hydra.
absolutely
awesome
clearly ambiguous
decimate
edgy
epic
green
groovy
healthy
heroic
historic
iconic – I hate this gruntjective the most. I hate it. I hate it to death. Are no longer any other adectives being used today?
impactful
insane
literally
maverick
miraculous
perfect
rad
random
surreal
unique
viral
What adjectives do you think have lost meaning from overuse? I’d like to know.
– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef, Ph.D.
My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.
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