Don't Say It: These Are The Most Annoying Buzzwords, According To A New Survey

Do you like to use the phrase "let's go back" in business meetings?

Your colleagues would like you to stop.

Preply, an online language learning platform, recently surveyed over 1,000 people to ask what they thought of some popular corporate jargon. "Circle back" was considered the most boring phrase, followed by overused doozies such as "put a pin in it" (#6) and "fruit close at hand" (#8).

Related: What do you do when your colleague is biased? Try these 5 phrases to call him professionally.

Buzzwords you need to stop using in 2023

The survey also looked at what they called “modern buzzwords,” popularized in 2022.

New words survey participants wanted to see gone immediately include 'new normal', with 42% calling it the most infuriating phrase of 2022, 'bend over' (18%) and 'take a call' (16%).

"Level up" and "out of pocket" weren't far behind in terms of annoyance.

HR representatives may wish to take note. The survey highlighted phrases that shouldn't be used in job postings, with 55% of respondents saying they have a negative view of buzzwords in job postings.

Worst offenders include: "fast-paced environment" and "rockstar". Luckily, the words "guru" and "ninja" also got a boost.

Related:

Acceptable Buzzwords

Not all corporate buzzwords were deemed unbearable. The survey also revealed the least annoying buzzwords, such as "sync" (#1), "loop" (#7) and a familiar old classic, "take offline" (#9).

We're not saying these phrases will make you popular in the office, so use them sparingly.

Here are the full lists:

Top 10 most annoying buzzwords

1. circle back

2. Work hard, play hard

3. Ground Boots

4. Let's drop this

5. Synergy

6. Put a pin in it

7. Get ducks in a row

8. Fruit at your fingertips

9. Reinvent the wheel

10. Run it and see what sticks

5 Most Annoying Modern Words

1. New normal

2. Bend over

3. Make a call

4. Upper level

5. From your pocket

10 least boring buzzwords

1. Synchronize

2. Pushback

3. Pipeline

4. Set level

5. Have in the back pocket

6. Window of Opportunity

7. Loop

8. Align

9. Take offline

10. On the same page

8 buzzwords to avoid in job ads

1. Like a family

2. Dynamic environment

3. Rockstar

4. Guru

5. Ninja

6. Hustle

7. Work hard, play hard

8. Get your foot in the door