Words To Avoid In Writing

adjective lacking in originality, freshness, or novelty; trite

• The speaker's banal remarks failed to captivate the audience.
• I'm tired of hearing the same banal jokes over and over again.
• Stop being so banal, spice things up a bit!
• Her mind was a vast wasteland of banal thoughts.

adjective a term used to describe something that is of poor quality or taste, often in an exaggerated or overly sentimental way

• The chef prepared a delicious cheesy lasagna for the dinner party.
• I love cheesy movies that make me laugh.
• That joke was so cheesy, but I couldn't help but laugh.
• His speech was full of cheesy cliches, but it still managed to inspire the audience.

verb to disgust or sicken someone with an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment

• The sweetness of the dessert did not cloy the palate of the distinguished guests.
• I love chocolate, but too much of it can cloy my taste buds.
• Eating too much candy can really cloy your sweet tooth.
• The constant praise began to cloy on her, making her doubt its sincerity.

noun a boring or dull person or thing

adjective boring or dull in character or appearance

• The professor's lecture was so dryasdust that half the class fell asleep.
• I couldn't get through that dryasdust book without nodding off.
• That movie was straight up dryasdust, I almost walked out of the theater.
• Her personality was as dryasdust as the desert sands.

adjective lacking significance through having been overused; unoriginal and trite

• The professor criticized the student's essay for containing too many hackneyed phrases.
• I'm tired of hearing the same hackneyed jokes over and over again.
• That movie was so hackneyed, I couldn't even finish watching it.
• Her hackneyed excuses for being late were wearing thin with her boss.

adjective having a sentimental or overly emotional quality

• The mawkish sentimentality of the film was criticized by many reviewers.
• I can't stand all the mawkish stuff in romantic comedies.
• That movie was so mawkish, I almost cried.
• His mawkish attempts at flattery were transparent to everyone.

adjective excessively long in duration or extent

• The overlong meeting lasted well into the evening, causing everyone to become restless.
• I couldn't sit through that overlong movie, it was just too boring.
• That book was way too overlong, I couldn't even finish it.
• The overlong shadow cast by the tree made the garden seem darker than usual.

adjective a term used to describe something that is dull, tedious, or overly long-winded in writing or speech

• The speaker's prosy speech failed to captivate the audience.
• I couldn't stay awake during that prosy lecture.
• His prosy writing is a total snooze fest.
• The prosy nature of the meeting made it feel like time was standing still.

adjective having a dull or old-fashioned quality; uninteresting or unexciting

• The traditional recipe was deemed too stodgy for the modern palate.
• I don't like the stodgy way they always do things around here.
• That restaurant serves up some seriously stodgy food.
• His stodgy attitude towards change is holding back progress in the company.

adjective overused and consequently of little import; lacking originality or freshness

• The author's use of trite phrases made the essay seem unoriginal.
• I'm tired of hearing that trite joke over and over again.
• Her speech was so trite, it was like nails on a chalkboard.
• The trite melody played in the background, adding to the overall sense of déjà vu.

adjective describing someone or something lacking in creativity or originality

• The committee found the proposal to be unimaginative and lacking in creativity.
• I thought the movie was pretty unimaginative, nothing we haven't seen before.
• The new marketing campaign is so basic, it's like they were going for unimaginative on purpose.
• His speech was like a dry desert, barren and unimaginative in its content.

adjective a word that describes or modifies a noun, such as 'unliterary' which means not literary or not related to literature

• The professor criticized the student's paper for being too unliterary in its approach.
• I couldn't get into that book because it was just too unliterary for my taste.
• I'm not a fan of those unliterary novels that everyone seems to be reading.
• Her writing style was so unliterary, it was like reading a grocery list.

noun excessive wordiness or long-windedness in speech or writing

• The professor's verbosity made it difficult to follow his lecture.
• I couldn't understand what he was saying because of his verbosity.
• His verbosity was so annoying, I zoned out halfway through.
• Her verbosity was like a never-ending waterfall of words.

verb To cloy or satiate, especially with too much food or drink.

• The rich and decadent dessert was so sweet that it accloyed my palate.
• I can't eat any more candy, it's starting to accloy my taste buds.
• I'm so sick of this song, it's really starting to accloy me.
• The constant praise and attention from fans began to accloy her sense of self-worth.