Unnecessary words are those that have a perfect substitution, they don’t add anything to the language other than to show off a good vocabulary. They can be substituted using much more common words that are easier to remember, more commonly used, easier to pronounce, don’t sound stupid, and have fewere syllables.
What other words do you think fit the criteria?
I’ll probably think of some of my own later, but I just wanted to show my support for the banishing of “copacetic”. It doesn’t even sound like the kind of thing it is. It sounds like it should mean something like antiseptic.
Nonsense. Writing can engage the reader and come to life if written well. Learn how to write better and you will come to appreciate the many choices that the English language offers.
Having all these duplicative words is doubleplusungood.
I would ask, why do we have “large”? Is there anyplace that “big” wouldn’t suffice?
Not the answer you’re looking for, but one man’s “Overly complicated words which have simpler synonyms” is another person’s “Dumbing down the English language”…
Hey, ‘copacetic’ is perfectly cromulent. Back off of that word. You want to pick on a word? Pick on ‘rural’. There is no excuse for a word to force you to concentrate with the focus of a Buddhist monk in order to pronounce it correctly.
Yeah, that was succinct…
I think you’re the cat’s pyjamas, Cat’s Pajamas; and I concur, Martini Enfield.
Big words hurt brain. Small words good words! Me like short words much!
Pretty much all words are just made up.
(Onomatopoeic words and the noises people make when you hurt them might be exceptions)
I mean, is there a syllable shortage or something that nobody told me about? Have we passed Peak Verbosity?
But aren’t “copacetic” and “discombobulated” joke words that were made up to make fun of fancy words? It seems weird that you would pick those two to hate, because I think they’re on your side.
mnemonic - never helps me remember anything.
Are you against, opposed to, anti-, averse to synonyms in general?
Word choice sets tone. That’s why sometimes someone is bewildered, and sometimes discombobulated. There’s just enough difference between the two that the reader will get a different impression of the scene.
I’m pretty sure copacetic is only pretending to be a word (yeah, yeah, it’s pretending harder in some places than others).
Farnarkled, now. THAT’s a word!
I hate when people use redacted wrong. Especially when they’ve only deleted text from an early (never available in any form) draft of a document.
I remember people on the Dope claiming this before, (possibly discussing the Rural Juror episode of 30 Rock) and I don’t get it. do Americans pronounce the word in a weird way or something? In UK English it’s very simple: rurr-rool, (to rhyme with purr-wool). I’ve never heard anyone have a problem with that word.
If we’re going to get rid of words, I say we lose the ones that are never used anymore. When was the last time you saw ausform, qi, or qat used?
Dunno, when was the last time I had a game of Scrabble?
Intrigued, newsletter, etc.
Also for your consideration: anemone. Granted, it doesn’t come up in conversation all that often, but it’s a verbal speedbump every time.
I don’t know… I always feel like Scooby Doo when I try to say it. I speak very quickly and I always have to slow down a touch to say it clearly.