Words and Phrases We Hate: A Non-Definitive List

I’m a word nerd, word lover, and a word whisperer. I’m tickled when I discover a new word and eager to learn which already-in-use words earn dictionary status each year. In 2025, the Oxford English Dictionary added collab, guyliner, timebox, and Yorkiepoo, so there’s all the proof you need that our language is growing, changing, and (IMHO) getting better all the time.

But some words and phrases are so abhorrent that they should be excluded from use immediately. Without further ado, here’s a non-definitive list of words that’ve got to go.

Phrases People Have Told Us They Hate

Phrases and Words We Hate Because They’re Empty

Words and Phrases We Hate Because They’re Not Really Words

Words and Phrases We Hate Because They’re Business Jargon

Here’s to avoiding the words on this list and using fresh, specific, correctly spelled, accurate words in all our writing! We can all double click on that.

Leslie O’Flahavan is a get-to-the point writer and an experienced, versatile writing instructor. E-WRITE owner since 1996, Leslie leads customized writing courses for Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.

Leslie helps the most stubborn, inexperienced, or word-phobic employees at your organization improve their writing skills, so they can do their jobs better. As a result of her work, Leslie’s clients improve their customer satisfaction ratings, reduce training cycles, improve productivity, and limit legal risk. Leslie is a LinkedIn Learning author of six writing courses including Writing in Plain Language, Technical Writing, and Writing for Social Media. She’s the cohost of the monthly LinkedIn Live broadcast “Fix This Writing!”

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