A New Crusade
I know I don’t use the English language correctly all the time. In fact, you could probably find several major botch-ups in every single post, including this one, if you really, really tried.
One word that I really, intensely dislike is, “impactful.”
The first time I heard it, I said, “Is that a real word?”
When I found it online at dictionary.com, I was very, very disappointed.
I was vindicated today however when I learned that ‘impactful’ only made it into the dictionaries after people started wrongly saying it.
Which means that it’s really not a word. Or at least it shouldn’t be.
And so I launch my crusade against the word ‘Impactful.’ Care to join me?
July 14, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I’ll join you if you’ll join me in my own pet peeve word: irregardless.
July 15, 2008 at 8:20 am
irregardless annoys me more, i hafta say. it’s a word that’s supposed to make the speaker sound intelligent, despite being a double negative (usually associated with pidgins). the linked article is a little short on actual journalism, which is beautifully ironic – “with impact” rarely suffices as a replacement, and the word owes more to powerpoint presentations than to journalism. i like this better:
July 15, 2008 at 8:41 am
Your link IS better (and hello there, sir!), and I do agree with you both about irregardless.
Impactful just SOUNDS ugly. It jars my head when I hear it and my mouth when I say it.
July 15, 2008 at 10:11 am
“Irregardless” is the created word that drives me crazy!
I’m happy to see that I am not alone.
July 15, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Uh have you written that letter to your senator yet…giggle.
I hate the word conversate. That is a St. louis special.
July 15, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Oh, I abhor impactful! I also hate impact used as a transitive verb: I am not a bowel, and therefore not impacted; I am affected. (Or maybe I’m just plain touched, but anyway, I’ll take up my pitchfork and join your crusade!)
July 15, 2008 at 8:13 pm
just sounds like one of those dumb words from the workplace.
it fits right into buzzword bingo. :-p
http://isd.usc.edu/~karl/Bingo/
July 16, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Hee, hee — I don’t like it either. I’m with you — I thought it wasn’t really a word. Can we vote?
July 1, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Irregardless is at least an honest mistake. Impactful and impact as a transitive verb are just ridiculous, self-important business jargon.
Never heard “conversate.” Yes, that IS special!
I also intensely dislike the use of the word “around” to replace “about,” “regarding,” or “with regard to.” More self-important business jargon.