WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Grammar Minute: Don't Use These Words

Episode Date: November 15, 2024

The title says it all. Learn more on today's episode of Grammar Minute!

Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we're saving the English language 60 seconds at a time. I'm Lauren Smith back with another writing tip of the week. There are some words that you almost never need to use, no matter what you're writing. This includes words that are boring, overly complicated, or poorly defined. There's a long list of words that could fall into these categories, but a few that come to mind include very actually good, bad, biweekly. And if that sounds suspiciously specific, check out the episode I did on that miserable word. literally unique and phenomenon.

If you feel like you must use one of these words, first consider whether there's a stronger word you could use. Replacing good with almost any other adjective, for example, is almost guaranteed to make your writing more interesting. Second, consider whether your reader is likely to need a dictionary to understand what you're saying. There's a fine line between interesting and overly complicated and the best writers walk this line like prose.

That's your grammar minute.