Degree adverbs and adjectives are words that enhance an action or event. For example, the recent northern lights could be described as simply beautiful or incredibly beautiful and I think most people who saw them might agree.
The two most overused words, I believe, are “extremely” and “incredibly.” Television and print reporters beat these words to death to the point where, I believe, they are losing significance. Do people work hard? No, they must work extremely hard. I wonder what they did to get to “extremely.” An athlete makes a difficult play. Incredibly difficult? I guess, if it never would be duplicated, but it likely will happen again.
A statement that really hit recently was an article about an individual’s reaction to a harsh comment. The individual remained extremely silent, the article stated. Really?
To those who write, people work hard; study hard; or are noisy, silent, tall, short, fat, or skinny: That’s enough description! If the weather is cold, hot, or rainy, it’s not necessarily incredible (likely to happen again) or extreme ( worse maybe around the corner or 500 years from now), but worse will almost certainly happen.
I implore those who report and talk or write: Save those degree adverbs and adjectives for events or actions that actually deserve the distinction.
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George Balach
Duluth and The Villages, Florida
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