1. lostinwebspace

    lostinwebspace Active Member

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    Favourite/Least Favourite Word

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by lostinwebspace, Aug 15, 2011.

    What are your favourite and least favourite words? Mine:

    Favourite: without too much thought put into this, I'll go with flabbergast. It's one of those words that totally conveys just how stupefied someone gets, almost as if you can picture him or her doing a double-take and flabs of skin rippling around in shock. "Whoa, what did you just say? That boggles my mind!" all in one word. It's one step away from being onomatopoeic(at least in my mind) because I can just hear the flab flapping around.

    Least favourite: probably utilize. This word seems to be born out of a need for someone to sound more official. I know, I know. It does have its place. I appreciate when it's needed and used properly. But I find it used properly so few times because most times it's there to pomp up someone's document. Maybe nine times out of ten, the word is wedged in where "use" would work just as well and would sound less pompous.

    I heard a manager at my workplace use "maximalize" once, as in "We need to maximalize our productivity." He became my favourite make-up-a-word-to-sound-more-official man because he used these governmentese words so often, at least a few each meeting. I wrote them down and referred to them when I needed a good chuckle. I bring this up because I see "utilize" used in the same vein: to sound more official when a shorter word will do.
     
  2. PastPresentNFuture

    PastPresentNFuture New Member

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    My favourite word Iis palatial beacuase it conveys a sense of power of elegance, which is a good combination.

    My least favourite word is ok since it is such a bland word, and to me it means indifference or an "I don't care attitude"
     
  3. joanna

    joanna Active Member

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    My favorite words are the ones with more than one meaning. "Blunt," for example. As in, "The whack to the head with the two-by-four caused blunt force trauma," or "Sven was so angry he sat down and smoked two blunts by himself."

    My least favorite word is "outlet," or most any word that ends in "let" because they sound ugly.
     
  4. Liza

    Liza Active Member

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    "Ridiculous." The word is so fun. Or "reckon". No, wait! Blimey! That's my favorite word by far!

    I really dislike the word "fail." Fail because it's used so much and it just sounds horrid.
     
  5. TheHedgehog

    TheHedgehog Contributor Contributor

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    Don't care for...
    Snacks (the plural; the singular is alright)
    Kiosks... sends shivers down my spine.
    Moist... ewww!


    Favorite words? Hmmm... gossamer, diaphanous, torrent, turbulent, pastoral... many good ones. :D
     
  6. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

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    The word I most hate: 'novel'

    One of my favorite words: 'appreciate'
     
  7. Leah

    Leah Member

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    Love the words : persnickety and plethora. Why? Who knows. lol :)

    Not keen on : hate (also a few derogatory non-PC words but i'm too cool to say them out loud ;) )

    Also sayings I am not keen on : "moving forward" and "play it by year". *shiver* :p
     
  8. BFGuru

    BFGuru Active Member

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    Love "cantankerous". It cracks me up to call someone such.

    Hate "It is what it is". Ugh, my boss uses it multiple times a day when he gets frustrated with deadlines...and I just want to smack him and tell him to schedule things more effectively.
     
  9. VM80

    VM80 Contributor Contributor

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    I love the word 'incandescence'. It sounds really peaceful to me, not sure why.

    Least favourite, anything overly bureaucratic. Take your pick.
     
  10. Yoshiko

    Yoshiko Contributor Contributor

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    Honey! My top favourite word has been "honey" for about three years now.
    Other words I really like are: bunny, butterfly, carnival, chain, charm, cloud, destiny, dream, fairy, fluff, happy, rainbow, sapphire, smile, sky, soul, sunshine & yes. Mm~ I guess I can say I like happy, short and cute sounding words in English.

    My least favourites are "poor" and "cod" (but I like eating it!) and many words that end with a hard "-g" or "-ck" sound. Especially when there is an "i" or an "o" before them.
     
  11. proserpine

    proserpine New Member

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    I love words. It is hard to choose a favorite.

    The first ones that come to mind are: willow, anomaly, moss, and science.

    I dislike trendy, non-words like "friended".
     
  12. chatterbox

    chatterbox Member

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    not Quite sure why but my favourite word is decrepit

    my least favourite word is very because it is so overly used
     

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