“Whatever”,  has again won the contest for most annoying word in America for the ninth time in a row!

 

The annual Marist Poll found that 33 percent of those asked named, “whatever”, as the most annoying word.

 

But while the top spot remains the same, there is a newcomer to the list, “fake news,” which 23 percent named most annoying.

 

Rounding out the winners were “no offense, but” (20 percent), “literally” (11 percent) and “you know what I mean” (10 percent).

 

“Since 2015, we have seen a narrowing between “whatever” and the rest of the list,”  Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.  “It has been more than 20 years since ‘whatever’ first gained infamy in the movie Clueless.  While the word irks older Americans, those who are younger might not find ‘whatever’ to be so annoying.”

 

Last year, “whatever” got 38 percent and “no offense, but” got 20 percent.

 

Marist says opinions vary by age, with 40 percent of those 45 and older choosing “whatever” as most annoying.  Twenty-six percent of Americans under 45 chose “no offense, but.”