Ask Mike: The most common words
Hey Guys,
There are thousands and thousands of words in the English language, but which ones are the most commonly used? A user named Valde Optiums wanted to know the ten most popular words. I did what I could to find him an answer.
Ask Oxford features a slew of information on the topic. The site explains that just ten base words “account for a remarkable 25%” of all the words used. These ten words are: the, be, to, of, and, a, in, that, have, and I.
The site goes on to rank the most commonly used nouns, verbs, and adjectives. It’s a pretty interesting list, and one that I found to contain a few surprises. For example, the most commonly used noun isn’t “man,” “day,” or “thing.” It’s “time.” As for the top adjective, I was hoping for “funky,” but the number one spot actually goes to the rather boring but dependable “good.”
So that settles that. But there are other aspects of English that people can obsess over. Take favorite words, for example. I am convinced that everyone, whether they know it or not, has a favorite word. After a bit of soul searching, I’ve decided that mine is “fiasco.” Just saying it brings a smile to my face. I don’t get too many opportunities to say it, although, given the definition, maybe that’s a good thing.
What’s your favorite word? My least favorite is and will always be “lozenge.” What about you? What are some of your favorite words? Do they hold special significance to you or do you just like the way they sound? Drop me a note and let me know.
Thanks for reading,
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Excellent, entertaining, useful reading, Thanks !!
My favorite word is swell. I don’t know why, it just makes me laugh if someone says it. Hmm, my least favorite is flabbergasted. Ugh, I hate that word.
:S
Haha, I laughed out loud at some of the things in this post. I can’t believe that “good” is one of the most commonly used words in the english language…it dissapoints me that some Americans are so uneducated in the beauty of our language. Thanks for the enlightenment!
I, myself, have often pondered this as well. Very interesting article! I’d have to say my favorite word is “canoodling” (sp?) And I think the worst word in the world is “wound.” It just makes me shudder!
My favorite word is “stuff.” as in I want more stuff.
I love the word silhouette. It doesn’t hold ‘special significance’ but I like silhouette pictures and I love how it sounds. (:
i’m pretty convinced the word most commonly used in english is “I”
makes sense. take a listen around some time, notice how often its used.
My favorite word is blue. So simple yet so meaningful. My least favorite word would be bleeped on here and is my least favorite because it just sounds so nasty.
very interesting
Hm I do like the word “pebble”
It kind of reminds me of things with a small position like me and I like that as well as how it sounds
Hate the word “hunky-dorey”
It just sounds like a poor kid who way named that and I hate the way it is said
my mothers favorite words are purple and space….now she mentioned it, they are mine too.
but my favorite word is flabbergast
and chimichanga lol
I knew that some of those words Mike picked were most common, as the letter “e” is most used in spelling.
Speaking of spelling, perhaps I’m sensitized (placing #2 in MD state spelling bee, 2nd grade) but it seems more disappointing today to see all the mis-spelling; few any more seem to take any interest in skills which appear to be atrophied by spell-checkers & grammar-wizards.
While I’m thinking of it, did I mention the ubiquitous abuse of the lowly apostrophe?
I think I’ll make “apostrophe” my favorite word; a local Baltimore artist Frank Zappa (Phi Zappa Krappa) did an album by that name.
Perhaps the most distasteful word I can think of at the moment is (& please pardon the pun) “regurgitate”. (“Hello, my name is Raa-alph & I drive a Buu-uiickk…”)
My apologies… ;D
My favorite word is effervescent.
I hate the word ‘wonky’. I hate it! Whenever someone says it I shudder. As for my favourite word, SPARTA! My favourite.
How about exploit?
Eh? Eh?
Love that’s my favorite word ,there are favorite words i use but Love is my favorite sounding word
i honestly don’t think that i use the word good that much
my favorite word is bit
like that a bit strange
My favorite word is queef. You just can’t not laugh when someone says queef. Least favorite: creamy.
Wow, nice blog. And “good” as the most common word? I find that funny. I don’t really have a favorite word but the funniest word I’ve heard so far in my life is “discombobulate”. Hard to pronounce, but the “bob” part makes me giggle a little bit
My fav word is “speckeldawrfed”. I made it up, and it means like confused or scared. lol I also like cunfuzzeled
I love the word demure. I learned it in english and haven’s stopped using it since.
I think my favorite word is “insigrevious”. It just kind of rolls off the tongue. Its special signifances are: it’s a word I coined, means exactly what I want, on an ‘as need’ basis. Plus it helps distinguish fools & cons quickly when on an “I-need-to-know” basis.
Least liked word is hopeless.
. that never blink an eye when they hear it & a real
My favorite word is “reckon,” and I like that it can make a complete sentence: “reckon?”
Well, it’s not a very grammatical sentence, but it’ll do.
I guess my least favorite word is probably “twelfth.” Just try teaching the correct pronunciation to a second language learner from Korea… or a native speaker for that matter. Heck, try teaching it to me!
I think my favorite word is “insigrevious”. It just kind of rolls off the tongue. Its special signifances are: it’s a word I coined, means exactly what I want, on an ‘as need’ basis. Plus it helps distinguish fools & cons quickly when on an “I-need-to-know” basis.
Least liked word is hopeless.
It is a fact that the words Coco Cola is the most famous word in the world, and then followed by Okay. I like the word messed.
my favorite word is DEFINITELY
defenesration: (noun) the act of throwing someone out of a window
my least favorite is probably snorkel…it just sounds so like…stuffy nose-y
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious !!!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting! My favorite would have to be Serendipity. I just love how it sounds.
Some others are Hippopotamus and Galoshes
my fav word is peace
my fav word is peace like peace out home dog
I cannot tolerate the word breach. But I love the words jasmine and ecstatic.
The most common word used in the English Language is the word “THE”.
Notice how may times I had to use the word just to write the answer.
May favorite words are POOP and FART because they are super funny.
my favorite word will always be: Alas!
it is the best!
least favorite is ‘crippled’. i just hate the sound of it.
Well, my least favorite word is umbrella. It drives me crazy!! But I can’t really think of any favorite words, but I know I have a few.
Personally I hate the word fart….and I can’t seem to pick a favorite word.
My favorite word…Facetious
Least favorite…Bling & hunkey dorey
The most used word is “time” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i like the word ‘ doodling & frustrated ‘ .
Doodling sounds funny & the meaning of frustrated just makes me laugh.
my least favorite word is jacuzzi.
i dont like the way it sounds but i like going in it
are you george carlin?? Too much stuff!!
Ever since I heard the word “reciprocity” I loved it. Or “nebulous”. I hate the word “statistics”. I can never say it.
Fantastic is my favourite word and i don’t hate any word (yet!).
-Bakhtiar
I personally HATE the word phenomenaly. Bugs me.
But I love the word “sweet”. Sweet boy, sweet tea, sweet kisses. Seductively Sweet Kisses.
for some reason, I’ve always enjoyed the word ‘swan.’ if you really think about it, what the heck kind of word is it?
haha my favorite word would have to be bizarre. it just makes me laugh
hehe
i hate the word…. well words i pronouce wrong
My English teacher’s favorite word seems to be quagmire:which means a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot;;but she also says you can say it when you’re in an awkward situation.
My personal favorite phrase is:
THATS WHAT SHE SAID.
it never gets old;and its always going to be good.
(thats what she said)
my favorite word is probably either “bamboozled” or “flabbergasted” they are so fun to say and they are so rarley used. Most of my least favorite words are perverted words, they just make me feel sick to my stomach.
I thought this was very interesting. that was not what i was expecting. My favorite word is “blubber-nuggets” i don’t even think that’s a word in the english language but it almost always makes me happier when i am sad so i simply love it.
My favorite word at the moment seems to be “fluffy”. But I also like words like insomnia (I have no idea why). (:
english is my second language, i’ll never forget a long word i learned from my english teacher, i think is not common but we used it a lot while studying with her, it was fun to say “discombobulate”
for example after a heavy day in the classroom with too much info or stress (because an oral presentation), we said: omg! i feel so discombobulated right now..
just by the sounds it makes, i think it express the feeling
You spelled that user’s avatar wrong. I thought it was wrong when it looked like Latin to me at first glance, and, thinking that the user wouldn’t have spelled it wrong, when I went to his profile, surely enough, it is actually “Valde Optimus,” or “Intensely Best.”
Hey!! Dilemma would have to be my favorite…I also like bamboozled. So I try to use that often. haha! cant think of a least favorite though.
i think the word is (dont see)
all people saw the crimes in GAZA but dont do any thing for them
My favorite word is pistol, for some reason.
My least favorite word is magic. It’s boring.
The most common used english word is LIKE, especially in Teens…
I like ‘funky’ too!
I don’t have a favourite word but I do dislike ‘pornography’, as in the word itself. Just sounds so, eurgh. Couldn’t they have come up with a better name for it? Hahah.
Good post anyway.
My favorite word is “monkeyrape”
Sorrry , srrrrrrrry and sorrrrrrrry
from top to bottom everyone used this word to digest our day
My favorite word is “wisdom”. We can overcome difficulties by wisdom.
My favourite word is “nevertheless”. There is a whole sentence in that one word. The word that annoys me the most is alright. I can never tell whether its allright or alright or all right.
Peoples “favorites” related to any subject will fade time. My mind is too obscure to appreciate one word when there are so many great words in the world. Covered as in “This topic has been covered many times already” is a decent word for this moment. I’m not a religious man but I was listening to a comedian use the word-Transubstantiate 2..4..6…8.. Time to transubstantiate! Genuflect, is another interesting word. I feel incredibly sad for my generation and for myself. I didn’t really see a decline in our vocabulary as a nation until the late 80′s, music is one of the main reasons for this decline, not all genres just some of the more mainstream. beautiful words are still alive in some Indie music/alternative hip-hop/ some metal bands. Reality t.v. is also to blame for this decline, much worse an influence then the music..Want a fun clean hip-hop song-Alphabet Aerobics (blackalicious is the artist). Artificial Amateurs aren’t at all amazing, analitcally I’ll assault animate things, broken barriers, bounded by the “bomb” beat, buildings are broken basically I’m bombarding, casually create catastrophes..well just listen to the song it’s good for Alzheimers ;P!
Didn’t mention the most ambiguous word in the dictionary. ” STRIKE ” look it up there are 36, more or less, definitions for this word.
Wondering what is the meaning of canoodle? Thanks so much!!!:)
Have a great day!!!:)
Most kids say “like” a lot. I a middle school teacher, so…
“Favorite”, “most”, “least”? They are all good. I have no favorites. I love them all. I just can’t spell them all let alone know what they mean. I learn a new one everyday. Seldom. though, do I use it for very long. They just don’t apply. So while life remains mundane, the words will also. They apply. It is communication that is desired, not the beauty of the word. Yet, I find myself speaking in Iambic pentameter. What the word lack, I make up for in rhythm of my few words.
i’m starting to dislike “awesome” – it’s used too often & too casually. and recently “bailout”
i like the word “iris”& “sunshine”.
there are a few phrases that i find too cliched & abhor – “having said that”, “at this point in time”, …
my repartee to “having said that” is “say no more” ;-/
Both the Yahoo! Answers question and this blog assume that the use of the word is written. This list changes considerably if you focus on the spoken words.
Hmmm, Ahh and Oh come much higher on the spoken word list.
Bubbles. Okay, I know it sounds REALLY kiddish, but it’s kinda fun to say.
pokemon because the serious is awsome.
my favorite is dirth,wan is second
hey well my favorite word would have 2 be “DUDE”
cuz i use it so much that my mom and dad always yell at me for using it. i just think that is so funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i love the word chaos. i like the sound, but the meaning also has signifigance to me, also. i love the way it makes you feel to say it.
my favorite word is def. box
my favorite word is package
I really like the word “serene” because it sounds soothing when spoken, and has a comforting meaning.
My favorite word is bevy. I think one of my lest favorite words would have to be darling- used as an adjective. I know a woman you uses it constantly. Love her, but can’t stand the word. =)
Unless you are a primary teacher, you probably wouldn’t know the top 10 words or, for that matter, the top 20, 50, or 100. That’s because youngsters learn to spell the words they use most often. Makes sense, right?
There are many favorite words that come to mind. A top ranker is conundrum. Then there’s curmudgeon (my husband can be this at times).
The most detestable word? Like…as in “Like I’m like really upset with you. You are like the worst person in like the whole world.” I consider “like” a vocabulary reduction agent. Rather than pausing to construct a decent sentence, the word has taken the place of “um” and “uh”. It should be considered the Lord Voldemort of four letter words.
most common words in teenagers groups are “lol”, “like” and “totally!”.
My favorite word is madly, as in I love you, madly.
My least favorite is skin.
“like” is probably one of them.
I once had somebody tell me their favorite word was “suicide”. Not for what it means but just the way it sounds.
For myself, I don’t think I have a favorite but the ones I absolutely detest are ‘spittle” and “suppose”. I have no idea why they just rub me the wrong way.
What about “like”. Girls in my school use it all the time.
I think my favorite word is “piffle.” It’s a pseudo-curse that both my wife and my mother used. As both are deceased, it does have special meaning for me. I wonder how many of people’s favorite words aren’t actual words.
I DO have a most despised word, though, and there isn’t any doubt about it: homophobic, (or homophobe). It is a contrived word which seems to have been impressive to the media and the trendy, PC set, but it really is an abomination of the language, and somewhat of a testament to mass stupidity.
“Homo-” is a prefix meaning of the same type or uniform. It has absolutely nothing to do with sex. The people who invented and popularized this word need a little education on how words are formed. I guess they thought “homo-” automatically meant “homosexual,” just because it has become a popular pejorative. Duh!
I guess “auto-erotic” means having sex with your car.
As for constant misuse or overuse of words in the media, my negative vote is for “surreal” or “decadent.”
The most common word in the english language is… the you use it in almost all the senteces you say… duh…..
just in name of LOVE i adore to speak in english all o ver the world.It’s so nice to handle different language
my favorite: incredulous, combust
I despise: plump, pregnant
hahaha, great post
now im gonna be up all night wondering what my favourite word is …..AHHHHH!
x
my favorite word is bubble, it just reminds me of when i used to blow bubbles out on my front yar wen i was a kid. my least favorite word would have to be devil or hanging it just reminds me of death
Haha, no offense but you seem to be pretty old to hope for “funky” to make the top of the list.
my favorite word is lugubrious. and my least favorite is swum
I love the word dog i’ts god spelled backwords. Thats all
How about “And” i’m pretty sure everyone says it
(I would have thought that the word “like” was the most used of all.) The word I hate the most is “moist.” It sounds way weird…
I don’t really have a favourite word, but I know one of my least favourites is community. It’s so choppy looking and overused. I also hate too many prefixes and suffixes, or things that look like them. Oh, yeah and I hate the word ‘endangerment’. It’s ugly.
Haha, truthfully, I like the word ‘wound’. And I like the word ‘membrane’
My favorite word is chortle and my least favorite is slacks. I just can’t handle how it sounds sl-ahhhhh-cks. I know the British find it amusing that we call them “pants” (their word for underwear or panties) but I for one am glad that the word isn’t used much by younger generations!
Other good words: Voracious, emphatic, veritable, myriad, lustrous, loquacious
Awful words: wrench, pustule, pimple, and boil (as in one that needs to be lanced), and pus
Ther are a lot of common words. I can give you my favorite song,plant, gives hugs, I never realy though of a word I use more then anuther . I use the words I need at the time.
i don’t know why, but my mom and I always crack up when we hear the word ‘nook’ used on TV. its sort of an inside joke for us…..
My favorite word is Hullabaloo
My least favorite word is salve… sounds smelly and sticky
least favorite word – puke.
it sounds horrible!!
my favorite words are sexy, love, chimichanga, parallelogram, and twinkie.
i forget what my least favorite are. probably vomit i guess…. (traumatic memories haha)
The word I hate most is Fetus. It sound so inhuman and makes my skin crawl. My favorite word is recockulous. That is way more rediculous then rediculous.
My favourite is “ricochet”… for the way it rolls off your tongue
i think the most common word is Hello or Hi since millions of people say it everyday. actually trillions zillions!
Favourite word: Ukelele. The ‘lele’ bit is cool on the toungue.
Least favourite: [pardon my language] Shit. I use it pretty often, but whenever I do it consciously, it sounds meh.
My favorite has gotta be..
Skpelunking.
:]
Least favorite is by far moist.
It makes me BLEACCCKCKKCKRGH.
By far my favorite word is panoptic. It’s not a very common word and every spell checker flags it but it’s a great word.
Let me give a pre-warning to my least favorite word it’s: pre-warn. Thank God, it’s not completely recognized as a proper word but I hear people use it all the time. I’m never sure how they give a pre-warning since wouldn’t they be just warning us? This word is like a virus and has all the virtues of the common cold.
I hate author when used as a verb. As in, “he authored that book”. I think it’s pretentious. Can’t anybody just say he wrote it???
I like chiaroscuro, ephemeral and tintinnabulation. I definitely can’t narrow it down to one, and I’m still probably missing some that I really like.
It is too damn long
My least favorite word is food lol.It just sounds so ugly how it sounds also the word milk when some people pronounce it sounds ugly too.I can’t think of a fa orite if i do i’ll come back lol.
Least favorite milk and food.
Hahahaha, someone asked a question on Yahoo Answers the other day about how the answerers felt about a person, and someone answered, “He is a douche-nugget!”
I think that’s a pretty good word.
i love peace
peace out homey jk
My favorite word is ‘Adultery’ and then ‘Adultrous’
My least favorite word is ‘Propagandistic’
Everyone uses the word “like” ALOT. My favorite words are “basically, essential, regardless, frugel, digress, and eloquent.”
I read most of these and the more I read, I realized I did not have a favorite word until I came across the word Bamboozled. My least favorite would be dead
My favorite word is “sunshine” and my least favorite word is “vomit”. Ew.
My all-time favorite word is “cool.” It’s a word that’s lasted in meaning across many generations. It has the k-sound, so it makes many people smile.
My least favorite word is “genre.” It strikes me as a snobby word rather than a sophisticated word that adds meaning meaning to a more common word.
My favourite word is fuchsia. It is a fascinating word and must be one of the most commonly misspelled English words. I also love unconscionably, ubiquitous, squeaky, effervesce and synesthesia. I am amused by the way geoduck sounds as compared to how it looks.
I hate indigent, malevolent, putrid, milquetoast, paltry and squid.
I think the worst word in the world is “wound.” It just makes me shudder!
My least favourite word would be ‘flesh’. My skin crawls, it has done whenever I’ve heard someone say that for a long, long time.
Fav words is cuckold (kuc.kulled) and kumquat and pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis and sarcastic and irony/ironic and boondoggle
least fav words synthesized or like asparagus and artichoke (not including okey-dokey-artichokey)
the, be, to, of, and, a, in, that, have, and I
I wonder if a sentence could be made of these words and it make sense.
Sorry about the typo!
salchicha.
I hate the word minus…. it just sounds terrible to me. My friends always complain when I say negative thirty degrees.
My favorite word combination is
“miscellaneous whathaveyou’s”
I always spell whathaveyou as one word and most of the time I use it as a pluralized noun. In the case of the above word combination, it is used to mean “assorted nameless thingee’s”
another word combination I use a lot is “nice, neat, pretty and sweet”
It comes from working retail and instructing employees to straighten, dust etc. the merchandise. And it just rolls off my tongue since it rhymes.
Come to think of it “miscellaneous whathaveyou’s” comes from working retail as well. I know I use the word “also” a lot too. I hate saying that word, but it just automatically spills out of my mouth.
my least favorite word is the 4 letter “C” curse word that isn’t c r a p. It is so vulgar. I HATE when people mis-pronounce the word “supposedly”.
“supposubly”
I always correct them and I’m not usually the kind of person that corrects people’s grammer or whathaveyou.
“suppo-SED-ly”
and I hate the word lil’ as in little but spelled lil for some odd reason. anytime I say it I always try to make it sound like one syllable but it always sounds like a two syllable word and that annoys me. Also, I feel like I have a lot of spit in my mouth when I say it and I have to suck all the spit out of my mouth and take a hard swallow before I say it correctly.
I know I hate some other words but I’m not able to think of them right now.
my favorite word is mellifluous and it has been since the sixth grade when i learned it.
i hate “like”, and i use it constantly. i also hate swear words and crass words. for example, saying “i’m pissed” instead of “i’m aggravated, irate, angry…”
i love that we love words like hullabaloo and discombobulated. they’re just fun words to say!
My favorite word is myriad. I also like old-fashioned words like abbatoir and melancholy.
My least favorite word is “guesstimate” because it isn’t a real word, but teachers always use it. It makes me angry- it is so annoying.
My favorite word has got to be sublime.
My favorite word is anal.
Least favorite is recktum
The word in the English language with the most definitions is “set,” according to Guinness Book.
One of my favorite words is y’all. It’s fun, it’s funky, it’s friendly. Another is bourgeois because I like the sound and the way it physically feels to say.
Oh yeah, and I really like the word sublime. And phenomenal. OH YEAH! I love the word inshaallah, it means “God willing” in Arabic.
my favorite word is definitely soliloquy.
i just love saying it. and i don’t mind having one, either.
i don’t really know about least favorite word.
but somewhere in the top least favorites is c***.
i hateeee that word.
My fave word is “meh”
use it all the time
least favorite “f***”
I wish people wouls stop cursing
my fave word is “yahoo”
i just like it,,, YAHOOOOO
Great topic. I was wondering the same thing lately. I’m surprised “thing” isn’t a common word.
My favorite word is the slang use of “cool.” It’ll never go out of style.
My favorite word is the one I need to say at the time I need to say it. Therefore all of them are my favorite candidates. To bloviate and be loquacious on a single word is absurd and generally not interesting or intriquing to the complex and obsure mind.
I’ve heard that in order to study a culture one must study the language; certainly an active topic!
Before I read a lot of these comments, I just assumed that you were asking for actual words, ones that you would find in a dictionary, not personal “made up” ones. That appears to be what most people are listing. I guess I’m not too much into inventing new words myself – plenty of already existing ones to learn and use
I have plenty of favorite quotes and phrases, but cannot honestly say I have a favorite word – the closest would be the familiar terms of endearment that are used in personal situations (“dear”, “sweetie”, “sweetheart”, “Love”, “darling”) and my least favorite ones would be the standard hate words that are used by people to express hate – like the “n-word” being used for blacks by some who isn’t black.
Haha, I was wondering about this the other day. I also couldn’t really make up my mind about it, but I know ‘regardless’ is one of my favourite English words.
Honestly, the words i hear most often arent really even words defined in the webster dictionary. Words such as Yo’, Ain’t, Wuz up…etc. lol.
But seriously, I think that people use the word, Love a lot. which loses its meaning after time.
On one site the 10 most common words are…
from ranked from 1 to 10…. the, of, to, and, a, in, is, it, you, that…( http://www.world-english.org/english500.htm )
The next site had the same words just in a slightly different order. ( http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/bl1000_list1.htm )
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Lanora
it sounds horrible, but i like the word WOUND. i don’t know why i just like the way it sounds. plus it reminds me of pocahantas. and i loooove saying GUADALAJARA even though that’s a city.
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious will always have a place in my heart.
i know this is supposed to be for english but in spanish i love LA BUFANDA :-p
I HATE THE WORD BEHOOVE. driver’s ed teacher said that literally 2039423402 times a day. i also hate cornecopia. and bogus. AND MAVERICK!
“Jaded” and “Naive” are my favourites; I just like the sound of them!!
my favorite word is horrible. i don’t know why. my least favorite is pail. ^^
my favorite word which I often use is ‘weh’ its not actually a word, its an expression used when you are doubting the person you are talking to, whether serious or jokingly.
but my favorite word really is ‘itchy’
it sounds funny
i also lke
squishy
mushy
twitchy
and other ‘ishy, itchy’ sounds lol
Interesting topic. Hey Mike, have you ever wondered what *your* most used words are?
I recently found this site that transforms any text (including RSS feeds) into a “picture” of your words. Some are quite beautiful, take a look at what resulted from your blog entry:
http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/447783/Mike%27s_Blog
Cali
BTW, the size of the word indicates frequency of use, so it’s easy to see at a glance that “words” is the most frequent word in this case
My favourite word?
At the time, it’s definitely gnarly. As I seem to say “That’s gnarly”, but not in a good sense. I tend to say it as if to mean “That’s gross”, or “That’s weird/strange.”
I also tend to make up very strange sentences that become my everyday usage for describing certain situations. My last of these was “I pounded it home last night.” until someone pointed out it sounded dirty and ruined it for me D:.
My least favourite word? Umm hmm. Any words that I use that people laugh at because they think of it all dirty-like. For example, “Erect.”
NO is both for me. It’s my favorite when I’m directing it, and it’s my least favorite when it’s directed at me!
My kids “dad can we have this?”
“NO”
Me- “Honey can we…”
Her “NO”
so intersting never would of thought of it if i didn’t read this. i’ll think about my favorite and least favorite and post it on your wall.
sorry i forgot to write: word in between: favorite and :and.
mine is traumatic. i love the sound it makes and the meaning it carries which is a can’t-be-expressed in words meaning !!
My favorite word changes all the time. Right now it is rotund. My least favorite word is moist. It just feels gross to say and it remind me of mold
Also, there are about four words that start with “c” that I hate even more than the word moist. Jillian said one of them.
A very interesting post you have here. I have heard the same thing pertaining to most languages. It seems that English is actually one of the easier languages to master. Other languages have perhaps twice as many words in their dictionaries. But, while they employ many more words, only perhaps 200 are really used in daily conversations.
haha some were interresting to me
my favorite words are oy and poddle
you can never say oy and never smile
just think “oy with the poddles already!”
HA! What a great post. I too like words and I absolutely s@#k at math. I think that’s kinda common. My fav word is POOP. Not that I’m into anything weird, it’s just so fun to pronounce. It always makes me giggle. Try it, you will too.
My least fav word is the dreaded “N” word. Such an ugly word.
Peace,
Laurie
my fave words are… stunning, lawn gnome (haha inside joke), spoon (inside joke), and
Lease fave: three, korf (inside joke), and drawer.
All time face phrase: She/He’s like a spoon in a knife drawer.and this is killer!
~Liya
I was amazed at the amount of comments this question generated.I would think one of the most popular words, would be “why”. As for my favorite word, I’d think I’d choose “understanding”…
my favourite is flambouyant,
i hate the word change coz im getting it from teachers all the time
my favorite word is almost certainly “sketchy.” i use it probably at least 3x/day, whether it fits or not. i also enjoy the words “nifty, tasty, fantastic, amazing and awesome.”
my least favorite…probably croissant. nobody knows how to pronounce it.
I don’t really like any particular group of words, but rather people’s names; Like Adelaide or Ella. I think they are so beautiful.
A also don’t really dislike any words, but it does irritate me when people don’t pronounce the word correctly, or they don’t pronounce the “t” at the end of a word.
Lazy talking basically.
Favorite word: Buttface
Least-favorite word: Crisp
My favorite word would have to be Tobogganing. I love that word! My least favorite word would have to be cache because i never know how to say it? By the way is it cash or cake?
my favorite word is befuzzled (pardon me for the spelling, i am having a major brain fart right now)
i dont really have a least favorite word, though.
-x-
My favorite word is cry-stalline
My favorite words . . .
They’re probably Seldom, Obscure, Never, Graphic, Violent, Possble/Possibly, Swish, Emerald, Chaos, Kite, Yellow, Jazz, Library (when pronounced right) Tuxedo and Panic.
My least favorite are probably Moist, Like, LOL, Garbage, Probably and Library (when misspronounced) Dishsoap (is that one word or two?) and Homo. Oh, and Pastuerized. They sound yucky.
haha my fave word is wangdoodle & it’s not even real, but my favorite words that are real are love and subterfuge.. haha it’s sooo much fun to say…
i absolutely hate the word guesstimate… it drives me freaking insane!!!!
Ha this cracks me up. My favorite words are “zany” and “preposterous”. (ex: That song was preposterous!) I love it.
My least favorite word?….hmmm
“cool”. I hate the way the ‘oo’ sounds.
one of the words i know most commonly in english lanuge is hello, and then howdy, how do, hi, and of how do you do. those are one i know so commonly.
I am surprised that the word “like” is not one of the most used English word. Now a days, adults, especially teenagers use the word “like” in every sentence. For example, “I like this place,” “I saw Iron Man, and like it was great,” etc…I catch myself saying “like” so it is no big deal. Just surprised that “like” was not one of the most used words.
Favorite word: definitely
Least favorite words: asked, saw
My least favourite word is soppy – I don’t know if it’s in the dictonary but it’s used to describe someone preoccupied with romantic notions. Such an annoying word.
hey
fave word: supercalafragilisticexpialladodotous
least favorite word: palooza
supercalafragilisticexpialladotous
Flabergasted is my favorite word! It sounds so funny
…huh, your so flabergasted… i forgot what it meant though… the word that i least like is exploit… its scary word…
obsquatulate
onomatopoeia
snickerdoodle
octopus!
My favorite word is abyss. My least favorite words are couch and moist.
interesting, i never really thought about it…
my favourite word would have to be: definitely
OHH i hate hate hate the word puberty.
not just because of what it is, which is awful anyway, but it just sounds gross.
Like totally! Like is like the best word in like the world!
i think the most common used words are like…
-like
-omg
-your mom
-twilight (the book from stephenie meyer…love her and apparently so does everyone else, every one talks about it…mostly about main character “Edward”)
-whatever
-love you (to random people)
-hate (you here that a lot lately)
-bad words (used even by 6 yr olds these days)
-pointless
-kill (people just want to kill people sometimes)
that is what i hear here in illinois…don’t know about every where else tho
~becca boo
hmm interesting my favorite word is CALL i love that
‘c’ sound i cant stand the words bottylicious,boggled and moist ..especially moist!!!
My favorite word is behoove…I don’t know why I like using it. My least favorite is pus…it sounds gross..
Well, personally I think that my most used words are benighted, and Misandrist.
For example: “Although my behavior may prove otherwise, I am quite the Misandrist. I suppose that I am just sick and tired of being treated like a benighted innocent child, by twisted, egotistical, perverted, masochistic worms.”
~Noisette
“the”
used the most.
i think the most comonly used word is IT. i have noticed that in most of the posts the word IT has been used at least once.
my fav word: fulminate because i seem to use it alot in school. its a funny word nd also most people do fulminate in school.
Least fave word: the. i never quiet seem to get that word.
There was a movie called Oh God with a little Jewish man as God and Jon Denver as the Main charecter.In this movie God refers to his funniest words,and he explains why.I am not sure what these words are .Does anyone?
toodles
btw toodles happens to be top of my fav word list.
My favorite word is pickle, and my least favorite word is puss. Ugh, I just almost gagged as I typed that.
Thanks for the article! It was quite amusing.
My favorite words would have to be…Masquerade…Papaya…Phillip (I have no idea why…Just say it, it’s incredible! Ha.)…and I LOVE the word TART! Hahaha.
My least favorite words are moist, poop, and CHILLAX…I can’t stand that worddd!
My favorite word is asinine because you get to curse in polite conversation. lol.
My least favorite word is apologize because my sister played that song too many times and now it’s just annoying.
My fave word is “antidisestablishmentarianism”. Twelve syllables, longest word I know. I think. I first heard it in 6th grade, from my first crush… So it kinda has sentimental value. Anywho, I digress. Any swear word is a least favorite. Especially the ones that kinda make you shudder when heard.
My favorite word is concerned.
My favourite words are kiss and oxygen.. i like writing them
And for my least favourite… well I don’t actually dislike ‘ironic’ but it annoys me how many people over use it – incorrectly – because they think it makes them sound intelligent
I don’t have a favorite word, but I think it might as well be gobily goo, or watever… I’m a weird girl so i dunno… well atleast my friends say i am…. i am going off the subj!!!
)
I think my favorite words are “pugnacious” the pug part sounds funny lol…. I also like “pedantic” which I use on classmates that act like know-it-all’s.
Least favorite I think would be “melancholy”, it just irritates me.
My favorite word is absquatulate.
I don’t have a least favorite word, but I do have a least favorite expression: “take it to the next level” argh!!! I say, after we graduate from high school, life becomes a free-for-all; we are all on individual paths and There Is No Next Level !!! …can’t stand individuality being reduced to such a banal and contrived hierarchy!
…so now, I will absquatulate, and get back to the book I was reading
I especially enjoy the word Canoodling. Makes me smile.
My favorite word is Dude and Like.
I say it atleast twenty times in a sentence!
No joke
I have two favourite words but I don;’t get to use them often enough
The first one is plethora
The second is umbrage, as in “to take umbrage”
Fun Post
enjoyed in a big way
so i added another comment and 2 cents
i love ‘rhythm’, you don’t get many words with that many letters without a single vowel,
i love words like ‘serene’ ‘poignant’ and ‘azure’ they’re just so elegant
I think the most common ones are ‘the’ ‘it’ ‘and’ ‘of’ ‘is’ ‘to’ etc.
my favourite word is PLOP!
discombobulate love that word =D
hate the word dead and all swear words!
xx
You are write interesting question.But somehow u r wrong because you can’t consider most common words in english dictionary………..because every word has common and every word can be put in his place…………so next time Don’t put up some silly question…………………..
What about the word “like”? I like hear like people use that word like every 5 seconds. It’s like they like to stick that word in like all of their sentences.
I think my fave is shenanigan. Can’t use it a lot but i’d use it every chance i get. It sounds funny
And my next would have to be “quite” “beautiful” & “odd”. I’d put “quite” into everything. I really dislike the word “hate” its so ugly…
My favorite word is “Fresh” Try it yourself. Say it out loud and feel the breeze baby!!!!
My least favorite words are vague ones that are used in phrases like “program application management” and “application workshop”
I hate the word workshop god it’s so f****ing boring sounding
my favourite word is scurry lol. it just sounds really nice. the word i hate most is scab… *eewwww*…
Favorite: love. So many meanings and emotion packed into a simple four letter word is a thing of beauty.
As for least favorite, I love language and would never wanna call something my least favorite word!
don’t bamboozle me you miscomboobulated blubber.
i hate how words are used to frequently and lose their meaning, like awsome.
anything with “-oozle” is sounds funny, and blubber is weird. I dont think miscomboobulate is a word, but everyone knows what it means.
the best words are the ones made up like “turducken” (a chicken in a duck in a turkey) or Rymnoceros (from Flight of the Concords)
i changed my fav sentence “don’t bamboozle me you miscomboobulated blubber.”
to
Dont sell the turducken to the rymnocerous you miscomboobulated(or discomboobulated) blubber finger.
love i hate it
My least favourite word is ‘slit’ it makes me shiver, URGH.
I don’t think i have a favourite, but a word i love is ‘giggle’ there’s just something cute about it.
I’ve always held a soft spot in my heart for the word spoon. S-poooo-nnn. YES!
And pimple is by far my least favorite word to say. It’s sound just too awkward and forced.
my favorite words are twilight & utopia
i dont like twilight because of the book, actually i hate that book !!! I love that word because it reminds me of a ringtone I used to have in my old phone it was sooo calming & nice i love it
and other words that i hate i cant think of
i think that the word nincumpoop is pretty funny
ok i think the most commonly used word is “like”. i swear to god so many ppl that are young say that after every other word they say without even knowing it, it makes you sound so stupid and unprofessional. its so annoying once you realize that the person is saying it a bunch, cuz then thats all you can concentrate on while theyre talking.
my favorite words are flamboyant and conundrum. i just love the way they sound i think they’re funny
“Umm” people use that word A LOT
I recently learned that the most common lie is, “that was my last piece”
refering to gum.
Perhaps you’ll also enjoy this little game, can you get all 100 most used words in the English language?
http://quizicon.com/quiz?id=37
I think the most common word used is “what?” because a lot of teenagers my age aren’t listening anymore and they always say what when a teacher talks to them. I do it a lot too but I at least pay attention.
nsjdgbsjfdkbg. i dont undeeerstand, my favorite word is woah.
aahahahha. woah.
i hate it when people say, like uhm, yeah, like i went to the mall, and like. yeah. ahahahah wtf.
As a teacher, not only do I hear my students say these overly used words, but they write them in their essays!!!
*like, ugh, swagger…there are plenty more, but I have to add these two lines – “At the end of the day” and “Having said that”.
My teacher says k alot. I recorded it once and it was over 300, in 6 hours!
Mike, over 100 years ago Gregg developed his shorthand method. The ten most common words are the simplest and fastest of the shorthand notations.
Anyone competent at shorthand or able to type over 100 words per minute knows a lot about this question.
My favorite word is “freedom.” It seems to resurface after even vicious attack. It is also the root of comity and civility, making it essential to lasting peace.
It is known that the two most well known words in the whole world in any language is OK and COCA COLA as quoted in the song “facts Of Life” by Lazyboy
countdown of the 10 worst words:
10.Nasal
9.lima (as in lima beans)
8.blood
7.bladder
6.tofu
5.intestines
4.grotto
3..goulash
2. mucus
1. puss
Countdown of top 10 words
10..BAM!!!
9.putty tat
8.INSANE
7. sic
6. antidisestablishmentarianism (I have absolutly no idea what that means)
5.Intense
4. randomness
3. Absitivly-posilutly
2. Rawr
1. Epic
my least favorite word ever is PUSS. like as in zits. its just so gross.
My favorite words are
versatile
versatility
and snippet
I think the most common word used is Funion.
i think it is the letters E and M.
How did you find that out? Well, it is the most common word in my vocab…
My favorite word is shilaeli, but I mean you have to pronounce it like SHAH LAY LEE
i hate the word phlegm! The actual meaning is gross enough but why must the word be so awful?!
my favorite word is fresh.
just thinking about it makes me think of rain and and cucumbers for some reason…its really random, i know but its like the “resonance” of the word feels clean…
i hate the word reciprical and the word alarm for some reason…
ULTERIOR- going beyond what is openly said or shown and especially what is proper it’s listening to what is not said
I HATTTEEE the word flesh
erggghhh
its so
MUSHY
ergh i hate that one too
I like brohaha
haha
and Ribena
riBENA
hehe
My favorite word is rainbow
Its just so…Unique, And barely anyone uses it.
My least favorite word is Bitter, Always makes me frown -.O Its just not a plesant word i guess…
I like finagle as my favorite word. It’s fun to use. I hate the word moist. It just sounds ugly when you say it slowly.
English – The Beautiful Language…
“Rumbustuous” – Roll the Rs and emphasise the “…bus…”
“Prestidigitation” – Again, roll the Rs and emhasise the “…digi…”
I could go on…
and on…
and on…
I despise the word “smear”…”scab” is pretty bad too…I dislike “scrumptious” too..
My favourite word…Edward. Because, y’know, he;s my life. I don’t know what I would do without him. =P
I wish….
But, My, not Mrs. Cullen’s, but mine. That is Henna’s favourite word is Love. Because It’s so amazing that it’s my favurite word. It just brings up so many memories and thigns that I, actually wouldn’t want to go over again in my head. But, OME*, it’s an amazing word. But that’s just me, and I have OCD**, so I wouldn’t trust me if I was asking an opinion, because my answer would be biased towards a lot of things…to do with the words Edward (Esme, Renesmee, Carlie Bella, Isabella, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle and even Jacob Black.) Cullen. Yeah… =D
* OME = Oh My Edward.
** OCD =
Not
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
, but,
Obsessive Cullen Disorder
=D
[x]
scrumdidlyyumptious
randomness, too
Myriad is my favourite word. Great read btw!
My favorite word is “snickerdoodle”
because i love that flavor of coffee annnnddd
when i mess up i can say.. ohhh snickerdoodle!!
Also, i love the word “MERRRRR”
i say this word when i mess up or something is obvious and someone didnt get it. duh.
I HATE!!! the word “cody” because its an ugly freaking word. yuck!!
The word to be of and in the list that I have would be a good time.
My favorite word is lovely.
It just sounds pretty, and it’s also a pretty feeling. If that even makes sense. (:
I’m not sure about my least favorite word.
my fave words are ” YES WE CAN”
umm, speckledwarfed is a fun word. ha it just makes me laugh.
no i didn’t invent it, i saw it on spongebob, it means like babboozled or like u got the wool pulled over your eyes.
flaucynaucyhillafillafication, big word for party and i hate the word whoosh its so dumb
idk i hate the word whoosh its so dull and i luv the word awsome, idk why its just kool
i hate the word tartar, plus it spells rat rat backwards. yuck
the, I, am, who, what. just the simple words
My favorite word is ‘eloquent.’
My least favorite is ‘probably.’ It is not a very good choice of least-favorite word, either… you hear it all the freaking time.
I love the words in “THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!!!”
Lol it’s overused, but in a sort of good way.
I HATE the words quaint and crucial. They sound SO ANNOYING
You
What
Where
Why
How
If
And
But
So
My favorite words are exaserbated and proliferation. There are more that I love, but won’t think of untill I use them, like cantankerous.
My least favorites are moist, informational, and dusk.
again, the list goes on and on. So many words are just disasterous to say.
Funny stuff…
My favorite word is “kids” for obvious sentimental reasons..just glad “wazzup” and “yo” was not on the list…
It is said that the words we use are not in vain, but, of impulse. Say “the” we can use this word up to 750 times in a day. Like “Yesterday, the child asked the two girls to the dance, but, one of the girls said ‘No.’”
At any viewpoint, the words we use come to a matter of usage not of USAGE. Get it? Take the word ‘Like’, many teens tend to over USE this word. But, when USED correctly it is fine.
Great Job Mike!
Favorite: indolent, bugger, cellar, tumble, skitter (and the list goes on)
Least Favorite: moist, snafu
my favorite word is chalupa. i guess its not really an english word. more like a spanish one. but its really funny to say or hear. every time i go to taco bell i read it on the menu and it makes me laugh so hard. the weird thing is i think they taste horrible.
my favorite word is Wallet, I mean, just think of it. Wallet. It sounds rideculously funny in a perspective.
My favorite words are:
Matriculate (love how it sounds)
Discombobulate
Misconstrue
Least Favorite:
sucker
Cool article, Mike. As for me, I tend to like archaic or esoteric words and phrases. Or foreign words. Like
“perihelion” which is Greek for the point in orbit when a celestial body is nearest the sun.
Or “y graeca” which is Latin for the letter U, but in Modern English is Y. Or “Decembrist” which is the name given to Russian rebels in an 1825 uprising.
i love the word “indubitable” or “indubitably”, and “exhilarating”
as for my least favorite word, “like” or “enjoy” because they are so nondescriptive and lackluster
I’m pretty sure my least favorite word is cuddle. I just don’t like how it sounds like a cows cud or something. Not the meaning of the word just the sound. It also kind of reminds me of the color pink, and i just don’t like pink that much.
My favorite word is rather simple to be truthful. Dog, its simple and easy to say and says what it means without a whole lot of extra stuff. Also I love the meaning of the word dog. It’s my favorite noun and I have four dogs!
I don’t know if names count but my favorite kind of names are something old-fashioned!
Interesting article though.
My favorite “word” is blissed. I discovered it floating around in my head today after I took my last semester final. It sounds much better than “relaxed” because x’s are never fun or attractive ingredients in a word; you have to strain a bit to say them.
Unfortunately, thus far blissed is not a legitimate word- it’s slang adopted from the term blissed-out which isn’t as succinct and pleasing to the ear.
Two syllables… Aloof!
Greatest word ever!!!
To anonymous: As you surmised, “blissed” is not a real word. I don’t understand why I hear so many people using it, especially within the vulgar term “blissed-out.” Why can’t you just say “blissful?” I nearly gag when I hear people saying it.
Interesting topic- props to Valde for asking about it. I am fascinated by language- in so many ways, on so many levels- the variations, distinctions, & sounds that characterize, and diversify, individual languages; the early development, then changing & evolution of language over time; etc etc
I’m still curious about what the actual Top 10
*words-words* are- ie words that have some substance- i’m suprised that words such as: ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘at’, ‘or’ & ‘but’ did not make the Top 10, I also wonder how even begin to research this & arrive at the “Top 10′s”.
oh, oh! i forgot some favorite words (i realized i have a lot):
-like, ‘kitschy’ is a great word- i love how it sounds, how it looks, & what it means.
-I love, love “bella” & “belle” & “kitten” & “kitty” & “bunny” & “doll”…
Other lovelies in groups:
-”Taste/Sweets” words- esp. those w/ a lot of ‘p’, ‘ct’, & ‘L’ & ‘sh’ sounds:
delectable, delicious, luscious, lush, confection(ary), cupcake, caramel, syrup, nectar, lollipop, dulcet, & candied.
-There are a lot of great “feminine” words too- incl. many flower names (primarily with ‘s’/'ce’ & ‘L’ sounds & sort of long, looping/flowing rhythems):
delicate, grace, elegance, aesthetic, melody, charm, … amaryllis, dahlia, narcissus, honeysuckle, hyacinth, lilly…etc etc