Do women tend to use the word lovely more often than men do?
And also, should men rather avoid using this word when describing something they liked?
Meta: I hope this question doesn't sound too sexist (though to an extent it is, of course).
political-correctnessusageword-usage
Do women tend to use the word lovely more often than men do?
And also, should men rather avoid using this word when describing something they liked?
Meta: I hope this question doesn't sound too sexist (though to an extent it is, of course).
Best Answer
Yes, according to renowned linguist Robin Lakoff in her seminal book Language and Woman's Place lovely is indeed a word that tends to be used more by women than by men:
On Gender-Related Differences in Daily Communication of English is a good overview of Lakoff's work and of more recent research.