Some of you may know from an odd post or two here and on the General Discussion Board that I am leading a campaign to get rid of the word AWESOME from your vocabularies.

AWESOME as it is currently being used is basically slang and becoming part of the Slanguage that is overtaking decent use of language and discussion.

Put into context...
The Grand Canyon is AWESOME.

The power of Hurricane Katrina was AWESOME.

A truck is NOT AWESOME.
Certainly not some accessory added to it.

Awesome brings to mind some half wit standing with mouth agape at something he cannot quite comprehend.

Here are, once more, a few alternatives for you to consider.

I DO realise that the next few posts will automatically include the aforementioned word just to annoy me (Not difficult as I get older and more cantankerous), but do please try to resist.
I think I'll upchuck the next time I hear someone describe their new shoes (or whatever) as ....that word.

Here are some alternatives.

Gargantuan, affecting, aggrandized, alarming, amazing, amplitudinous, apotheosized, appalling, astonishing, astounding, astronomical, august, awe-inspiring, awful, awing, beatified, big, bizarre, boundless, breathtaking, bulky, canonized, colossal, cosmic, daunting, deified, dire, direful, divine, dread, dreaded, dreadful, eerie, elevated, eminent, ennobled, enormous, enshrined, enthroned, estimable, exalted, excellent, extensive, fearful, fearsome, fell, formidable, frightening, galactic, ghastly, ghoulish, gigantic, glorified, grand, great, grim, grisly, gruesome, heavenly, held in awe, hideous, high, high and mighty, holy, honorable, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrifying, huge, immeasurable, immense, immortal, immortalized, imposing, incredible, ineffable, inenarrable, inexpressible, infinite, inviolable, inviolate, king-size, large, lofty, macabre, magnified, mammoth, massive, massy, mighty, monster, monstrous, monumental, morbid, mountainous, moving, mysterious, numinous, outsize, overgrown, overwhelming, prodigious, redoubtable, religious, reverend, sacred, sacrosanct, sainted, sanctified, schrecklich, shocking, shrined, sizable, spacious, spiritual, stirring, stunning, stupefying, stupendous, sublime, supereminent, terrible, terrific, terrifying, throned, time-honored, titanic, tremendous, unbelievable, uncanny, unspeakable, untouchable, unutterable, vast, venerable, voluminous, weighty, weird, wonderful, wondrous, worshipful

Do try...please !!!

 

I agree that "Awesome" is an over used term for which I am guilty of using too much. I stand corrected.

 

EErrr...I'm stunned !!!

An American with some humility !!!!

(You weren't being sarcastic were you ?!)


Thankyou...have one on me !!

 

awe·some
adj.
Inspiring awe: an awesome thunderstorm.
Expressing awe: stood in awesome silence before the ancient ruins.
Slang. Remarkable; outstanding: “a totally awesome arcade game” (Los Angeles Times).


Just join the times and say it with me.

 

Naaahhh !

Don't think so, but thanks for the offer !

 

"August" and "throned" were two of my favorites, the latter sounding like something that might have been heard on "Bill and Ted's Excelent Adventure!"

 

Lenticular - your writeup on "awesome" was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

new one, just in case you didnt know, it is now in the dictionary, "jumping the couch" as in when tom cruise jumped the on the couch because he was so in love with the other woman. an example would be hes gone crazy, hes "jumped the couch".

i agree, honestly, what is our language comeing to

 

My King Ranch is gargantuan, affecting, aggrandized, alarming, amazing, amplitudinous, apotheosized, appalling, astonishing, astounding, astronomical, august, awe-inspiring, awful, awing, beatified, big, bizarre, boundless, breathtaking, bulky, canonized, colossal, cosmic, daunting, deified, dire, direful, divine, dread, dreaded, dreadful, eerie, elevated, eminent, ennobled, enormous, enshrined, enthroned, estimable, exalted, excellent, extensive, fearful, fearsome, fell, formidable, frightening, galactic, ghastly, ghoulish, gigantic, glorified, grand, great, grim, grisly, gruesome, heavenly, held in awe, hideous, high, high and mighty, holy, honorable, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrifying, huge, immeasurable, immense, immortal, immortalized, imposing, incredible, ineffable, inenarrable, inexpressible, infinite, inviolable, inviolate, king-size, large, lofty, macabre, magnified, mammoth, massive, massy, mighty, monster, monstrous, monumental, morbid, mountainous, moving, mysterious, numinous, outsize, overgrown, overwhelming, prodigious, redoubtable, religious, reverend, sacred, sacrosanct, sainted, sanctified, schrecklich, shocking, shrined, sizable, spacious, spiritual, stirring, stunning, stupefying, stupendous, sublime, supereminent, terrible, terrific, terrifying, throned, time-honored, titanic, tremendous, unbelievable, uncanny, unspeakable, untouchable, unutterable, vast, venerable, voluminous, weighty, weird, wonderful, wondrous, and worshipful!

 

my Kranch may not be awesome...but it sure is SCHWEET!!

 

I’m with you Lenny, but I will say that I am guilty of using the term myself quit a bit over the past year or so. The over usage of terms like this, especially when describing an exciting event or new material items, has always occurred. I’m reminded of other terms that were ‘overused’ when I was growing up, such as: "hairy mother!”, “groovy!”, “far out!" , “sweet!”, etc. Time is the only cure, but beware, you may hate the next generation of “awesome” even worse.

 

My wife also winces at and rails against the overuse of the word "awesome" in modern conversation. It drives her nuts.

I showed her the original post at the start of this thread and she loved it!

Mount Rainier is awesome; hurricane Katrina was awesome; my King Ranch is indeed SCHWEET!

 

This thread is awesome. Opps...

 

awesomely dumb

 

this thread is awsomely stupid