I hate it when people use the word “parent” as a verb.
I hate it when I hear the word “dialogue” being used as a verb. “I want to dialogue with you about this issue.” No you don’t. You want to TALK to me about this issue.
Optimize
Empower
Honor (A word I suspect is being misused. I’ll save this for a thread I’m going to start later.)
“Embracing Change” (Oh, yeah? What, you’re gonna give it a big bear hug or something? I actually heard this term more than once at one of those epic meetings at my place of work last week.)
All I can think of for now.
Electoral College
When I read the OP, I immediately thought of “proactive”, a horrid, misunderstood word bandied about by ignorant film producers. But I see several people have already mentioned it. So I’ll just say I agree with that one.
It’s easy to say why most of the words we’ve mentioned we hate. They’re either not really words (irregardless), or overused or misunderstood (paradigm). But what about words you hate and you really have no good reason to hate… you just do?
My personal one is “slacks”. But only when it refers to pants. When someone says, “Productivity slacks off this time of year”, for some reason that’s okay. But “Say, that’s a fine pair of slacks you’re wearing!” really disturbs me.
Anyone else?
- Dave
I can’t stand it when people say…
“Noo-Kew-Lur”
when they really mean nuclear.
I especially hate it when George W. Bush pronounces it this way.
Basically.
Interface.
Proactive.
Wow, yet another Simpsons quote comes to mind- I’m on a roll:
(Homer has joined the navy)
Officer tells Homer he will be assigned to a nuclear submarine due to his experience working at the nuclear plant. Homer corrects him, “it’s pronounced nuke-ular.” Officer gives Homer a confused stare. Homer repeats, “nuke-ular.”
Okay I’m a newbie so I’m a little frightened of correcting other members but here goes… According to my dictionary (Merriam-Webster’s) “irregardless” is mostly definitely a word albeit a not very popular one. Here’s what the entry says:
- The most frequent repeated remark about it is that “there is no word”. There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose. It’s reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. *
That being said I also hate it. Linkage is also a very bad word. I must have heard it 500 times at the last “navel-gazing” seminar.
Nuke-ular. A holdover from the Eisenhower cold-war days. My Father says ‘nukular’ and ‘chloresterol’. He normally comes off as well educated. I used to cringe until I saw old newsreel of Eisenhower: nukular all over the place.
Batshit?! 
Hey, Hecubis! Go here. And welcome to the SDMB.
“Marginal,” “liminal,” and “transgressive” (especially when used as knee-jerk positive terms – as if a “transgressive” book were automatically more interesting and valuable than a non-transgressive one)
“Toxic” in the pop-psychology sense (toxic parents, toxic anger)
Bwah? How, exactly, do you lead an intangible concept which is therefor unable to follow?
You can, however, lead a group which champions a cause.
That would be Champion -
Aside from the usual corporate bingo words mentioned above, what gets me is specific popular phrases:
You go, girl!
Don’t go there.
Talk to the hand.
Wassup’ and 'sup and it’s latest variant: whazzzuppp!
I know there’s a few others that I can’t recall right now, and I should count myself as lucky for that small grace.
The work I cannot stand to hear:
it
I’m starting to hate people who use the word “ironic” to describe everything.
I also hate the use of “tragic” to describe any unfortunate incident.
Issue.
There’s an issue with the functionality of this computer. (No, there isn’t. It’s broken, plain and simple.)
He has issues. (No. He has personal problems that he needs to resolve.)
He took issue with that comment. (No, he thought that the comment was inaccurate.)
Oriental [when not referring to a rug]
It isn’t batshit, it’s guano, dammit! 
~~Baloo
reinvent.
My former boss (in a pleasant reversal, we actually fired him! but that’s another story) decided to make the company motto “Re-invent yourself every day!” The slack-jawed moron would then use this to justify changing the entire company around to copy whatever this week’s BusinessWeek cover story said.
Words that I hate for no good reason?
Dungarees. No, they’re blue jeans, or denim pants, or anything but dungarees.
–sublight.
Anamorphic:
YESSSS!!! We are kindrid spirits! Seperated at birth! I HATE “slacks” when it’s referring to pants! It’s trousers, if you must, but NEVER “slacks”!! I HATE that! Like fingernails down a blackboard.
Also, the phrase “think outside of the box”. And another vote for “proactive”.