Annoying Over- and Misused Words

Casual and overuse of a word cheapens it, blunts its impact, so when it really applies it can't have the true effect. Repeating buzzwords shows terrific lack of imagination in use of the language and herd mentality. Break free! Don't use these words reflexively! Broaden your use of English! For crying out loud, come up with a different word, or at least use these correctly.

Devastated
It is, apparently, the only word we have left for describing this sort of thing.

Celebrate
You can't just "do" something anymore, you have to "celebrate" it. Marketing really likes this word, it's a "feel good" word. Look at all the ads that show opening a package of a product starting a party. Celebrate holidays by buying cars. Celebrate life. Celebrate meaningless or unimportant things. A particularly annoying word when used in conjunction with:

Diversity
Particularly odious when appearing after "Celebrate". This one was okay for a little while until it became a buzzword to be used as often as possible by the politically correct. It plants in the mind the idea that diversity itself is automatically better than homogeny and is a goal to be sought after. This is not necessarily so. Witness Japan, a country that considers its homogeny as its greatest asset and strength. It would be impossible to argue with them. Diversity is just fine, but isn't something that deserves to be celebrated. It is no better than homogeny. "Our differences make us stronger" is the stupidest sentence ever spoken. You can trust that anyone that says is does not think for themselves. Differences are separators, fences and walls. I do not mean to say they are bad. They simply are. And by highlighting them, you are only showing how we are different, isn't it better to show how we are alike?

Community
Gack. We're a mobile society, now move than ever. Most of us aren't in one place long enough to really have communities. Not only that, but we have so much diversity that we don't agree on anything enough to be communities anymore, at least not in densely populated areas. Yes, we are all part of society. I will certainly hurry to give aid to my neighbors or for that matter anyone else if I can. But not all choose to be part of a community on a daily basis, and we are not weird because of it. Even within these so-called communities everybody looks out for their own, which is as it should be. Community is another warm and fuzzy word, at least to some. To me it means intrusion by outsiders into my life and how I choose to live it. Simply choosing not to participate in a community raises vague suspicions, and I don't like that. The whole village can get involved in raising my child only if they have the same morals and culture as me, otherwise stay the Hell on your side of the fence.

Hero
Please. Every time somebody calls 911 they're a flippin' hero. Okay, if it's a five year old making the call I'll give it to them. Teachers, while worthy of more respect these days than ever, don't qualify as "heroes". In my book, you're not a hero unless you placed yourself at some kind of personal risk you could have avoided without shame to do something for someone else. Of course in some undisciplined Hellhole schools teachers do qualify.

Miracle
If I hear "miracle of birth" one more time I'll scream. Wondrous, beautiful, yes. But how can anything that happens every few seconds and we have to take great precautions to KEEP from happening qualify as a miracle? The doctor applies years of training and experience, built on centuries of the experience of others, patient recovers, and it's a "miracle" from God? Vehicle crashes, thousands of hours of safety engineering pay off, and occupants "miraculously" survive? (Insert game show buzzer sound here). Sorry. Why are we so quick to give God credit for doing things actually done by us? Don't get me wrong, I do believe in miracles- but only when the doctors have given up. My standards for qualifying as a miracle are nearly as high as those of the Catholic Church. If it's not that good, don't call it a miracle around me, please. I will probably laugh at you.

Quality
Open to almost any page in the yellow pages and you see some unimaginative business using "quality" in its name. Now Hear This, you ignorant baboons: the word "quality", without a quantifier, means NOTHING. It's like saying "boy, we sure have weather today", you don't know if it's good, bad, pleasant, dangerous. Ford is to blame for this, with their "Quality is job one" ads in the early 80's. (Many a grammar teachers wince to this day on hearing those words). After more than a decade of producing total crap, consumers finally got the message through and American car manufacturers "put the emphasis on quality". "Quality" has become a synonym for "good", and I hate it. There are several others in the same category, such as "priority = first", "service = good service", but quality is the real fingernail on the blackboard.

Passion
You don't love something anymore, you "have a passion for it". Love isn't a strong enough word anymore. Passion has become an emotion in itself, it needs no more description. Oh, and it's always a good thing to be "passionate", never mind that some murders are classed as crimes of it. Want a "passionate" man, girls? Get a guy who's so "passionate" he beats you up. Like quality, there's no good or bad of it anymore.