Lake Superior State University is celebrating a milestone with the release of its 50th annual Banished Words List — a tradition that spotlights words and phrases worn out by overuse or misuse. – Lake Superior State University is marking a milestone with the release of its 50th annual Banished Words List — a tradition that highlights words and phrases worn out by overuse or misuse.
Originally a New Year’s Eve party idea in 1976, it has since evolved into a worldwide discussion on language, receiving over 1,400 submissions this year from every U.S. state and countries such as Brazil, Japan, and England.
This year’s top banished words include:
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6-7 (six seven): The most popular nomination, criticized for vague use in phrases like “six or seven reasons,” with calls to “86” the phrase altogether.
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Demure: Overused to the point of losing meaning, often heard in phrases like “very demure, very mindful.”
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Cooked: Said to make listeners’ brains feel “cooked,” with some calling for all forms of the word to be banned.
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Massive: Overused and often used incorrectly.
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Incentivize: A disliked attempt to turn nouns into verbs, with many preferring “motivate.”
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Full stop: Considered redundant punctuation, similar to the previously banished “period.”
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Perfect: Rarely applies accurately, especially in customer service contexts.
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Gift/gifted (as a verb): Another noun-turned-verb that has been on the list before.
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My bad: Seen as infantile and ineffective as an apology.
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Reach out: Once a phrase of emotional support, now overused to the point of absurdity.
The list also calls out “Repeat Offender,” words and phrases that have made multiple appearances on the banished list over the years. These include:
1. Absolutely (1996, 2023): A favorite nomination of WXYT listeners in 1996. That proved not to be enough. A 2023 submission called the word “The current default to express agreement.” Will it try for a hat-trick? Absolutely.
2. At the End of the Day (1999, 2022, 2024): In 1999, Mike M. said the phrase was used by “political pundits,” while Randall H. attributed it to “Hollywood types.” This phrase has the unique distinction of triple-banishment.
3. Awesome (1984, 2007): Elnora V. set the tone for the initial banishment, sharing “I find it preposterous to believe that all these writers are observing truly awesome events on such a widespread scale.” It returned to the list in 2007, with folks from as far as Thailand calling it “overused and meaningless.”
4. Game Changer (2009, 2025): The 2009 banishment quoted Cynthia saying, “It’s game OVER for this cliché, which gets overused in the news media, political arenas and in business.” This “game over” would include another banishment in 2025, with Patrick from Washington, DC commenting, “nothing is a game changer if everything is a game changer.”
5. Hot Water Heater (1982, 2018): An anonymous listener nominated this phrase to Rob Westaby with WOWO Radio in 1982, asking “Since when does hot water need to be heated?” Decades later, the 2018 banishment reminded folks that a “water heater” would keep them out of linguistic hot water.
If you’d like to nominate words for the 2027 list or learn more about the tradition, visit the Lake Superior State University website here.
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