The other day in a writing group, we were reviewing someone’s excellent piece, but the piece ended with the word “Impactful,” and I offered my revisionary wisdom: “I hate the word ‘impactful!'” In my post-outcry self-awareness, I wondered why I have such a powerful acid reflex to that word. In “the aesthetics of words,” my original post from 2014, I explain my antipathy. I also mention that “impact” is not a verb but a noun. Umm. Not so much. I was wrong.

Today, I’ve been hanging out with Merriam Webster and getting an education on all things impact-ful. It turns out that the verb preceded the noun by two centuries. Check out Merriam Webster’s excellent article: Yes, ‘Impact’ Is a Verb.

The other gem I found is Merriam Webster’s article, “Impactful, Yep, It’s a Real Word.” And the subtitle is perfect: “Hating a word doesn’t make it less real.” It turns out, I’m in good company. Impactful-haters abound! Oxford Reference even offers someone’s extreme sentiment: “I could never love someone who uses the word ‘impactful.'”

Do you have words or phrases that throw you into a full-body twitch or even just a jump of the eyelid? Do you know why? What does Merriam Webster have to say?