‘Whatever’: Most annoying word remains for ninth year in a row
The term, though less abrasive to millennials than baby boomers, still makes the majority of people cringe. ‘Fake news’ and ‘no offense, but’ are also high offenders, a recent poll revealed.
If this year’s most annoying words are any indication, people are not fans of ambiguity, falsehoods or platitudes.
On Monday, Marist College released a poll that ranks the most grating terms people throw around, and “whatever” topped the list—for the ninth year in a row.
While the word retained its crown, respondents under 45 don’t think it’s as infuriating as their older counterparts. Though only 25 percent of millennials say they loathe the phrase, 44 percent of respondents ages 53 to 71 list it as the most annoying term.
The Marist Poll reported:
“Since 2015, we have seen a narrowing between ‘whatever’ and the rest of the list,” says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “It has been more than 20 years since ‘whatever’ first gained infamy in the movie Clueless. While the word irks older Americans, those who are younger might not find ‘whatever’ to be so annoying.”
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