10 Words Grammar Snobs Say Shouldn’t Exist but Do

If there’s one thing that pretty much everybody is in agreement on, it’s that grammar snobs are, well, snobby. It’s right there in the name! Linguists, writers, copy editors, line editors, and all the rest of ’em (you know… nerds!) have a very particular way of doing things. And when it comes to language and word usage, that is their domain. So, if you have any of them in your lives out there, you certainly know they feel a particular way about the dictionary. To the rest of us, that’s a miserable slog. To them, it’s enthralling.

Today, we’re going to use this list to rankle them a little bit. Below, you’ll find the interesting tales of ten words that grammar snobs and linguists insist should not be words. Some are slang terms that haven’t ever been recognized in dictionaries or word lists. Others are strange words that have found their way into the popular lexicon despite not being officially recognized. But guess what? In time, dictionaries have come around to categorizing the following words as, well, words. And no matter what the grammar snobs in your life may say about them, that’s good enough for us!

Related: 10 Famous Writers Who Came Up with Everyday Words

10 Nother

Surely, you use the word “another” quite a bit. And probably just as surely, you’ve heard someone say “a whole nother” to describe a different thing, item, category, or grouping. It’s a little bit of a goofy word (or phrase), but people have used it to describe differences and exaggerate pairings and groupings. Now, grammar sticklers will get in your face with a very loud and very quick argument about how “nother” isn’t a word and “a whole nother” is simply nonsense. You shouldn’t break up “another” with the word “whole” between syllables, they’ll say. It’s not right!

But we’ve got bad news for grammar snobs and dictionary defenders: it actually IS right. That’s right. The word “nother” first popped up back in the 14th century and, from the start, was used to function similarly to “another.” Then, in the 19th century, it became very common to see “nother” as a standalone word and a synonym for its, uh, cousin. And now? It’s in the dictionary. It’s legitimate. Of course, it’s still not as commonly used as “another.” And you’ll still probably get weird looks from people if you do use it. But at least you can point them to the dictionary as proof that you’re not making it up.^[1]

9 Impactful

For years, “impactful” wasn’t a word. And then… the 1960s happened. During that decade and the latter half of the one preceding it, advertising agencies got their tentacles into America. Some of us would say that the country has never recovered. Jokes aside, though, ad agencies did a lot as far as finding unique ways to market their products. They also figured out an entirely new language to reference their work, their achievements, their campaigns, and more. One of the foremost and most lasting words that they created was “impactful.” Some might even say their idea to pick up that word out of thin air was… wait for it… impactful.

Basically, ad agencies took the word “impact” and altered it slightly in order to have a way to describe their marketing campaigns. Seeking to toot their own horn about how their campaigns were having a big impact on the public, they coined the term “impactful” and began using it in board meetings and conference calls. Soon enough, the word made its way outside the boardroom and landed on the street. And today, many things are seen as “impactful.” Possibly including the “impactful” punch a grammar snob might land across an advertising industry executive’s face.^[2]

8 Prolly

When it comes to text messages and Internet speak, “prolly” has pretty much taken over for “probably.” Especially among a younger generation and a fresh, new set of folks. To talk to us oldheads, we don’t recognize “prolly” as a real world. It’s a heck of a lazy contraction, and we simply aren’t here for it. But younger people don’t care, so they use it regularly—along with OMG, LOL, and every other slang term and coded abbreviation under the sun. Here’s the thing, though: “Prolly” has gotten so popular over time that it is now officially in the dictionary!

Amazingly, the first documented use of “prolly” in place of “probably” went all the way back to the 1940s. Naturally, it functioned back then just as it does now: as a clipped version of the word “probably” to be used to save some time and a bit of a spelling headache. (We suppose.) Even more amazingly, the Oxford English Dictionary has now come to recognize that it’s so commonplace (and so understood) that it deserves its own dictionary entry. At this point, after nearly 100 years in use, the grammar snobs should prolly give up this fight. Prolly is here to stay!^[3]

7 Snuck

If you want to say somebody is sneaking around but put the sentence in the past tense, what verb would you use? If you said “sneaked,” you would be correct. But tons (and tons and tons) of people believe that the correct verbiage to use in that case is “snuck.” So many people have thought that in fact—and for literally a couple centuries at this point—that “snuck” has finally entered the lexicon and officially made its way into the dictionary. See, even though “sneaked” is and has always been correct, people going all the way back to the latter half of the 19th century have employed “snuck” as the past tense version of the verb “to sneak.”

The drumbeat has been going on for so long that dictionary advocates and compilers have finally thrown up their hands and relented. Grammarians and linguists fought tooth and nail over this one for a long time and tried their hardest not to have “snuck” sneak up on them. After all, there is not a single verb in the English language that ends in -eak, which then transfers over to the ending -uck, which is the past tense. Well, there weren’t any… until “snuck” went and snuck up on us all. Today, “snuck” is officially a word you will find in every mainstream dictionary. Even if grammar snobs complain relentlessly about it.^[4]

6 Madded & Madder

Let’s offer up a two-for-one special here that’ll be sure to get grammar nerds doubly upset. Or should we say it’ll make them madder than they were before? Word snobs and linguistic experts left and right will tell you that “madded” is not a word. You can get “mad,” of course, and you can be “maddened” by something, but you can’t get “madded” over an issue or person. Right? Wrong! You actually can get “madded” by something. If you don’t do something at your job, your co-workers can be “madded” by it. And that’s a real word!

There’s a second real word in this same vein that has tripped people up quite a bit for a very long time: the word “madder.” Back in 2013, Barack Obama caught a ton of flak from grammar nerds and his political rivals alike after he used “madder” during a speech. Everybody thought that he should have said something like “more mad” to describe that to which he was referring. But if you open up a dictionary, “madder” is indeed right there. Obama was right about that one, even if it sounded wrong. And even if the rest of us debate it until we’re blue in the face!^[5]

5 Orientate

As we’ve seen so far on this list, there are a lot of words that people will argue shouldn’t be words. But few raise the anger of grammar nerds and linguistic snobs more than “orientate.” After all, “orient” is a word—and so is “orientation.” But one shouldn’t be able to “orientate” themselves. That’s the thinking of people who are so-called experts in dictionary matters, at least. There’s just one little problem with that: “orientate” actually is in the dictionary. Cry as much as they may, but grammar snobs are fighting a losing battle on this one. And the history involved here goes way, way back. Two hundred years back, in fact!

As it turns out, “orientate” was first used among British speakers of the language back in the 1840s. It was used then as it is now—as a version of “orient,” working as a verb meant for one to determine their bearings or direction. Across the pond in the United States, Americans mostly stuck with “orient” then as now. But the British kept churning on with “orientate.” And before long, people started using the two words interchangeably. Eventually, the word made its way across the pond. And now, “orientate” operates on both ends of the Atlantic Ocean. Even if the snobbiest grammar followers among us may fight it!^[6]

4 Gonna

What if we told you that “gonna” is actually a word? What are you gonna do about it? Are you gonna fight us? Are you gonna spell-check us? Are you gonna roll your eyes, sigh, and steel yourselves for the facts that we’re about to drop? Not only is “gonna” a word (sorry, sticklers), but it’s actually been a word since way back in 1806! The casual contraction of “going to” was first officially documented and added to a dictionary in that year. Dictionary makers and linguists of that era had heard people contracting “going to” into “gonna” and decided to make it official in their word lists.

In the last couple of decades, words like “gonna” have taken on new importance with the rise of text message lingo. Whenever possible, we like to shorten words and keep things on point when it comes to texting people, tweeting them, or posting on various other social media accounts. Naturally, “gonna” fits well with that. But as we now know, the word fits with much more than that, too. After all, there were no text messages back in 1806. But “gonna” still found its way into the dictionary, regardless!^[7]

3 Anyways

To hear a modern-day English teacher or copy editor explain things, you would think that “anyway” is the only acceptable word. But did you know that the word “anyways” isn’t just in the dictionary, but that it’s been in common use for more than 800 years? The word “anyways” dates all the way back to the 13th century and is documented in literature from that period. Over the next several centuries, it very gradually fell out of favor. In its place, English speakers dropped the “s” and instead used the word “anyway” to change the subject.

Today, most dictionaries list the two versions of the word as workable synonyms. While most modern people still drop the “s” and favor “anyway” over its cousin, both words are technically correct. If we’re being technical, “anyways” is a bit more commonly used in North America than it is in the United Kingdom and other places that speak English. But wherever you may be reading this, don’t let geography stop you. “Anyways” is a legitimate word, and if anybody tries to call you on that, just open a dictionary and prove them wrong.^[2]

2 Ginormous

You might assume that “ginormous” is a word created by millennials as a way to be goofy online. Instead of calling something “huge” or “humongous,” perhaps these little whipper-snappers opted to create an over-exaggerated new word to get across their thoughts about things that are really, really big. But would you believe us if we told you that “ginormous” actually comes from the World War II era? Well, it’s true!

Though it may feel like a goofy word put out by millennial kids who delayed their adulthood by being goofy online, “ginormous” actually has roots in the 1940s. The first documented and recognized use of the word came in 1942, to be exact. Your assumptions about its roots are correct: it was initially used as an over-exaggerated (and somewhat tongue-in-cheek) portmanteau of “gigantic” and “enormous.” But quickly, it caught on. And today, “ginormous” is a real word that is actually in the dictionary, no matter whether you have reservations about that or not.^[9]

1 Conversate

Not only does “conversate” contain an actual entry in every recognized and legitimate dictionary, but like a lot of the words on this list, it’s actually been around for well over 200 years. Along with “conversating” and “conversated,” the verb meaning “to converse” is a surprisingly common word with a shockingly long history. The first documented uses of “conversate” in newspapers and other written publications come way back in the very early 1800s. From there, the word snowballed its way through our lexicon.

Copy editors might bristle at the thought of using it; after all, why say “conversate” when you can merely say “converse” or even its far simpler cousin “talk”? Taken too far, “conversate” almost sounds like a word that a 12-year-old might use in front of his fellow classmates while trying to sweet-talk through giving a book report on a book he didn’t read. So, we don’t necessarily disagree with you on balking at using it in the real world, but that doesn’t change the fact that “conversate” is a real word.^[10]

+ BONUS: Firstly

Lastly, let’s drop a bonus word in there: firstly. Sure, we know that saying “first” is better than saying “firstly” when it comes to listing off a rundown of bullet points or items in a row. But while it might be extremely awkward to use “firstly” with a straight face, it’s not wrong. If we’re being technical, there are some actual grammar rules to consider here. For one, numbered words like first, second, and third all work as both adjectives and adverbs. Thus, that would make adverbs like “firstly,” “secondly,” and “thirdly” redundant.

To make matters even more pointed, some dictionaries believe that “firstly” is a redundant way to introduce a list or a bulleted number of topics. They actively recommend to people that “first” is a better choice to use than “firstly,” which they claim gets unnecessarily complicated. But enough people have used “firstly” over the years that the dictionaries collectively eventually said “screw it” and added it in as an entry. Today, “firstly” is in every dictionary worth its weight that covers the English language. It’s not ideal, but technically, it’s there. And being technically correct is the best part of being correct!^[10]