Overused Words; the plight of the descriptive adjective

There’s a sad state of affairs in the world today, and it has to do with language. Words like terrible and great and awesome don’t seem to pack the wallop they should any more. The problem arises when someone wants to describe a profound sensation they’ve experienced, whether it’s the flavor of a particular ice cream or the color of a new car, and the same old words just don’t seem to have enough impact any more. Maybe it’s because we use them so much.

Awesome, for instance. Awesome has devolved into slang term now describing things that are simply impressive, not necessarily something that inspires awe. Awesome is a word that should be reserved for things of such magnificence that your breath catches as you stare at it; this is what a sensation of awe is. Your friend’s new laptop, impressive as it might be, isn’t “awesome.” But to say that something is good or even great just doesn’t carry the weight it used to, and, needing some way to express extreme liking or fondness, awesome has become the go-to word. Often awesome is used when a lesser term would have worked just fine. Great, for instance, is a word describing something that’s tremendous, monumental…transcendent. That new laptop, if it’s really top of the line and elite, might be considered great. But “great” just doesn’t have the impact that it should, being an over-used word itself. Sadly, your friend’s laptop might simply be good, which in itself describes something that is “of high quality; excellent.” But if I told my friend his new laptop was simply good, he’d think I didn’t like it at all. In order to keep from hurting his feelings, I would have to gesticulate and give praise. And not be brief about it, either. No, I’ve got to remain in my excited state for a considerable length of time. I can’t just say it’s awesome, I have to over-enunciate it with a voice full of emotion: “Dude, that is so AWE-some.” Otherwise, he might be deflated. He might think his good laptop is actually inadequate.

Tucked in between good and great is another word that I could use to elevate the laptop’s status without going so far as to say awesome: Terrific; a word used to describe something marvelous, something extremely good. Of course, terrific is a versatile word that also means extraordinarily great, which gives it more weight than even great could.

If I had to rank describers from mildest to wildest, it would be thus:

1. Agreeable
2. Nice
3. Good
4. Exceptional (or excellent)
5. Delightful
6. Terrific
7. Great (or grand)
8. Spectacular (or amazing)
9. Magnificent
10. Sensational (or phenomenal)
11. Awesome

So now when your spouse brings home a new purse, you’ll have a reference to look to so you can come up with the proper descriptive adjective. Of course, that new purse had better be something better than grand or you’ll be in the doghouse. I’m shooting for spectacular, myself (even though it’s probably only exceptional). But not awesome; not unless I can reach into it like a shaman’s pouch and pull out anything I might imagine. Then it would be awesome. Or maybe if it was constructed of nanobots and could transform into an invisibility cloak. That would also be awesome.