Learn English – find a list of common padding words

filler-wordslistsword-usagewriting-style

Like a lot of people, I actually have the habit of actually adding a lot of actual padding words when I actually write. A common one I use is actually. These are actually rarely worth keeping, actually, and, when I actually remember, I actually make some actual effort to actually find and actually delete them all.

Is there a list of common padding words and terms that I can download?

This is partly out of curiosity, but partly for checking tools.

Best Answer

Some context dependent words can be found in Tony1's How to improve your writing, section "Eliminating redundancy":

  • relatively
  • still (as in "While the journal had relatively low circulation numbers for its day, it still influenced popular opinion and was feared by the conservative administration.")

Additive terms

  • also
  • in addition
  • moreover
  • furthermore

Temporal terms

  • over the years
  • currently
  • now
  • from time to time
  • to this day
  • future (as in "They planned their future response".)

Vague terms of size, number and proportion

  • some ("The highway expands to four lanes as it passes some built-up areas of strip development")
  • a variety of
  • a number of
  • several
  • a few
  • many
  • any ("The scheme does not remove any government-funded programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid")
  • all

Words for which the meaning is already conveyed in another word

  • its own ("Each weapon has its own advantages and disadvantages.")
  • in those instances ("In those instances when requests for assistance fall outside Tahirih's scope, staff members attempt to locate other consultants.")
  • subsequently
  • who come

Words for which the meaning is easily recoverable from the context or from general knowledge

  • Resulting ("The cigar smoker burns the dried leaves of the tobacco plant but does not inhale the resulting smoke")

See also Redundancy exercises: removing fluff from your writing.

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