In an age where social media trends birth new slang almost daily, a university in the United States has declared a linguistic crackdown. Lake Superior State University (LSSU) in Michigan has released its 50th annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse, or Uselessness for the year 2026. This tradition, which began as a whimsical New Year's Eve party idea in 1976, aims to retire words that have worn out their welcome in public discourse.
The 2026 Banished Words: A Deep Dive
After receiving over 1,400 public submissions, LSSU compiled its top ten list of words and phrases that people find irritatingly overused. The list for 2026 reflects a mix of social media trends, corporate jargon, and generational slang that has lost its original meaning.
Top Offenders from Social Media and Slang
6-7: This phrase, originating from American rapper Skrilla's song 'Doot Doot (6,7)', topped the annoyance charts. It gained notoriety through AI videos of celebrities like Cristiano Ronaldo and became a ubiquitous, meaningless chant among youngsters. One participant quipped, "There are six or seven reasons why this phrase needs to be stopped."
Demure: Once a positive term meaning reserved or modest, its meaning was diluted online. Content creator Jools Lebron's 2024 phrase 'very demure, very mindful' sparked its overuse as a descriptor for being intentionally low-key or classy on social media, to the point of rendering it nearly meaningless.
Cooked: This slang term, used to describe someone who has failed spectacularly or is out of options, has been cooked itself, according to voters. Whether for poor exam scores or corporate downfalls, its figurative flame has burned out.
My Bad: This casual apology, heavily associated with 1990s American rom-coms, continues to grate. Participants noted its overuse in scenarios ranging from friendship breakups to minor street accidents, making it a prime candidate for banishment.
Corporate Jargon and Overused Adjectives
Incentivise: While a valid business term, its infiltration into every corner of social media content—from parenting tips to career advice—has made it a buzzword people love to hate.
Reach Out: What began as a phrase connoting emotional support has become the default for any form of contact, especially in corporate emails. Voters declared it "absurdly overused" in 2025, sealing its fate for 2026.
Massive: Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) were called out for overusing and often misusing this adjective, applying it to situations where it doesn't logically belong.
Perfect: Despite Ed Sheeran's melodic tribute, using "perfect" to describe everything and everyone has exhausted its impact. Participants questioned its authenticity, asking, "How do they know it’s perfect…what does that mean?"
Full Stop/Period: Saying these punctuation marks aloud for emphasis in conversation was deemed "truly bizarre" and redundant by those who submitted their votes.
Gift/Gifted: Interestingly, this word appeared on the very first list in 1994. Its resurgence as a verb ("I gifted her a book") instead of its traditional noun form continues to annoy purists and casual speakers alike.
Why This Linguistic Tradition Matters
The annual list is more than just a humorous exercise; it's a cultural commentary on how language evolves and sometimes degrades through overuse. By banishing these words, LSSU encourages mindfulness in communication. It creates space for new, more precise vocabulary to emerge and thrive, escaping the repetitive algorithms of social media to find genuine meaning in our daily lives. As we step into 2026, saying goodbye to these ten terms might just make our conversations a little fresher and a lot less annoying.
