The Mid Life Dating Files 2025

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

If I could ban a word from permanent usage, what would it be?

Oh friend… it wouldn’t be just one word. It would be a full-blown linguistic eviction notice.

There are words that hit my ears the wrong way. Words that sound like someone is chewing gravel while trying to whisper. Words that look innocent on paper but feel aggressive in conversation. And then there are the international offenders — perfectly acceptable in their native country — but when I hear them spoken? I’m thinking, “Nope. Absolutely not. That word needs a chaperone.”

Some languages sound like poetry. Others sound like they’re assembling IKEA furniture with their mouths.

Now before anyone starts a petition, let me be clear: this is 100% personal preference. What sounds dreadful to me might sound beautiful to you. And here’s the funny part — I guarantee there are words I say regularly that make someone else cringe. Somewhere out there is a person who hears me talk and thinks, “If I could ban a word, it would be the one she just said.”

And honestly? That’s okay.

Words carry baggage. They carry memories, backgrounds, culture, religion, family traditions, and sometimes that one awkward middle school moment we’ve never recovered from. A word can remind someone of comfort and another person of chaos. It’s wild how five letters can stir up a whole personality shift.

Language is deeply personal. It’s tied to where we grew up (hello from good ol’ Gadsden), who raised us, what we believe, what we’ve experienced, and what we value. The very word that inspires one person might irritate another. That doesn’t make either of them wrong — it just makes us human.

And honestly, if we started banning words based on personal irritation, we’d all be sitting in silence by Tuesday.

So yes, there are words I’d love to put on probation. A few I’d exile permanently. A couple that make me squint my eyes every time I hear them. But the beauty of it all? I get to choose my words. You get to choose yours. And somewhere in the middle of all that word-chaos, we figure out how to understand each other anyway.

That’s kind of beautiful.

So say the words that feel authentic to you.

Avoid the ones that make your skin crawl.

Laugh at the ridiculous ones.

And give grace when someone else’s vocabulary doesn’t match yours.

Because at the end of the day, language — just like life — is personal.

Anywho…

Keep living your best life.

Chase your own dreams.

And if there’s a word you’d like to ban?

Just don’t say it.

👊🏻That’s power enough.👊🏻