Is This Really the Most Annoying Word of the Year?

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December 20, 2017 1:03 PM

Plus, we asked you which words and phrases you'd add to the list

Over the last year the United States has been more than a little divided. Between the current political climate, the fact that Blake Shelton was named Sexiest Man Alive, and the raging debate over whether or not the new Star Wars, the country really needed something to bring it together. And thankfully, it appears our mutual hatred of the word “whatever” is doing just that.

According to a new Marist poll, Americans have voted the word “whatever” as the most annoying word of the year. In fact, “whatever” has polled as the most annoying word for the last nine years straight.

The poll, which sampled 1,074 adults between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9, found that 33 percent of Americans truly hate the word “whatever.” The term “fake news” came in a distant second at 23 percent, while “no offense, but” came in third with 20 percent.

Both men and women found the word equally annoying, with 33 percent of both genders saying they hated it most.

“Whatever” ranked number one most annoying for Republicans, Democrats and Independents, who voted it in at 34, 31, and 35 percent respectively.

According to Marist, the gap between “whatever” and the other terms is closing fast. That may be because Millennials use the word so often, it’s become a regular part of the American lexicon once again.

“Since 2015, we have seen a narrowing between ‘whatever’ and the rest of the list,” Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, shared in a statement. “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.”

As the poll found, those most bothered by the word were people from the Northeast and those who identified themselves as a part of the Baby Boomer generation. While 44 percent of boomers expressed their disgust with the word, just 25 percent of millennials said they hated it.

But really, how bad is whatever? We here at Men’s Health thought that there had to be far worse offenders than that, so we asked you what words and phrases you absolutely cannot stand.

You noted more than a few irritating words and phrases, like "it is what it is," "at the end of the day," and "Saturdays are for the boys." Some of you mentioned cringeworthy office-speak like "it's not personal, it's just business," "move the needle," and "think outside the box."

"Irregardless"—which is a real word, despite being god-awfully awkward—also made your list. And finally, one for all the guys who've endured getting dumped by too-nice people: "It's not you."

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