Before we start, let’s tackle one more word—best.”

Something cannot be “absolutely the best,” or “really the best,” or “totally the best,” or any other intensifier plus best. Best means there is no equal. All the others fall short. So something either is or isn’t the best. There’s only one spot available.

Now let’s look at some more words.

• Awesome: Meant to inspire awe. Common usage has reduced it to a weak intensifier. Listen to any conversation involving teenagers and you’re likely to hear it far too often.
• Fantastic: Originally associated with things that seemed “unbelievable.” It was derived from the word fantasy. Now it is used as a simple intensifier meaning excellent or great, as in “That was a fantastic dinner.”
• Incredible: Now we’re getting to a pet peeve of mine. The word credible means “believable” some thing or some person that offers reasonable grounds to be believed, as in, “He proved to be a credible witness.” Or “That was a credible excuse.” Originally, incredible meant the opposite, something that was not believable or possible. Now, it is used commonly as a mere intensifier, as in “What an incredible view you have.”
  • It may be a “great view” or a “spectacular view,” but it’s not an “incredible view,” because you’re looking at it.
• Terrific: Terrific, originally meant terrifying, but the meaning has been reduced to just another intensifier. So instead of using it as in, “That was a terrific meal,” keep it in your back pocket for things like “That was a terrific tornado,” or “That was a terrific car crash” where the original meaning of terrifying can at least be loosely attributed.

These are but a few examples, but I think you see that if absolutely is absolutely wrong so are a lot of other words.

Another Pet Peeve of Mine Is Very

Very is a word that has almost lost it’s original meaning. I won’t spend much time on it here, but you can see another post I did regarding very for more information.

Anyway, here’s how very was meant to be used…

The detective asked her partner, “Is that the alley where the body was found?”

“The very one,” he said.

But enough about very. Let’s get back to absolutely. Suppose you and your partner went to a movie, and afterward she said, “The film was absolutely awful.”

Let’s look at that statement. How awful is absolutely awful. Was the film the worst she’s seen?

If it was the worst, just say so. “That was the worst film I’ve seen.”

When you say something like that, there is no doubt. Not question. According to you, no other film you’ve seen has been worse.

If it wasn’t the worst, was it one of the five worst? If so, say so. Then we know where it stands.

The point is, that either of the previous two statements are far better than saying it was “absolutely awful,” which tells us next to nothing.

Or how about the saying “He’s absolutely brilliant.”

What does that really tell us? I’d be willing to bet I’ve heard at least a dozen parents say that about their kids, but the saying means next to nothing. Wouldn’t it be better to be specific, as in “The child has an IQ of 152.” If you put it that way, everyone knows what you’re speaking of.

The next time you’re thinking of intensifying something or stating it emphatically, think again. You may not need to.

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Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes nonfiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series as well as books about grammar and publishing.

When Giacomo isn’t writing, he’s helping his wife take care of the animals on their sanctuary. At last count they had forty animals—seven dogs, one horse, six cats, and twenty-five pigs.

Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who takes walks with Giacomo every day and happens to also be his best buddy.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with forty-five loving “friends.”