Lindsay McMahon
"The English Adventurer"

overused words English American

Do you feel as if you hear the same words used over and over again?

What words do we use too much in English?

Are there other better ways to say something and mean the same thing?

It’s time to learn which words are overused and how we can change things up a bit.

 

Some Words Are Used Too Much

We just talked about this and found that there are some words that are just plain overused.

You can actually relive this information and insight here 17 Most Overused Words

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with these words, it’s just the opposite.

We tend to use these words because they are familiar to us and they are easy to insert into conversation.

Coming up with better alternatives can be a really good thing though.

 

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Some of the Most Overused Words

They are overused because we like them and they feel comfortable in conversation.

Recognize though that these are overused words and try to seek out alternatives.

In many cases, using these words too much takes away from their impact in a sentence.

  • Love: It may not be possible to love everything that we have, see, or feel. You may love a person, but you don’t necessarily love everything in your life or that you see at a store. Think of better alternatives because not everything is equal where love is concerned.
  • Hate: This is a similar word and the way that it’s used is typically to talk about an extreme. So while there may be people or things that you do truly hate, that may not be the case for everything that you use this word to express.
  • Like: This is often used as a filler in a sentence. It is so common that it’s an option on Facebook when you see somebody’s photo or post. Sure there may be things that you like in life, but you don’t necessarily like every single thing that you see.
  • Literally: People tend to use this to express an extreme point. It may not be that you mean it literally, but rather figuratively. Just using the word doesn’t make the point more clear, it can actually add to the confusion.
    • “I’m so hungry, I could literally eat 10 hamburgers!” You probably don’t actually mean that and so adding the word literally doesn’t do a thing here.
  • Awesome: Many of us use this all the time and it’s commonly associated with the word “love” too. Not everything can be awesome though, and so you really want to think about this one and if the thing you are talking about is truly awesome or just good.

 

It’s All About Exaggerations

When you look at these overused words, they all tend to have one thing in common.

These words tend to center around exaggerations because you want to show that something is really good or really bad.

Do you think there are overused words in your language?

What does it say about your culture?

If you want to express yourself or make a point, you don’t have to only look at these few words.

There are plenty of other ways to express an extreme point and they can do the same job in a conversation.

Make it a fun challenge to find different words to say the same thing and mix it up a bit.

 

Takeaway

Our language says so much about who we are as people and as a culture.

We have to vary the language we use to sound genuine–not everything can be love or hate.

One of the things we want to learn is variations so that you can create your own speaking style.

That’s not to say speaking with these words is wrong–they are overused for a reason!

It’s just something to think about and maybe a good reminder to change up your vocabulary from time to time.

Variety is so important for communication and good conversation.

 

If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section.

We’ll get back to you as soon as we can. 

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