Marist Poll Reveals the Most Annoying Word of 2016

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — After a long political season, the pollsters at Marist College Institute for Public Opinion dove into finding out what the most annoying word of 2016 was.

Or should we say whatever the most annoying word was?

Once again, “whatever” claimed the title of the most annoying phrase or word used in casual conversation.

According to the Marist Poll, “whatever" irritates 38 percent of Americans, followed by “no offense, but” at 20 percent.

“You know, right” irks 14 percent of those polled, as did “I can’t even.”

“Huge” is grating to 8 percent of Americans, while 5 percent just can’t decide.

We may be getting over “whatever,” the Marist Poll said, because 43 percent of those polled in 2015 cited it as most annoying.

When broken down by age, nearly half of Americans 45 or older thought “whatever” was the most annoying word of 2016 — at 49 percent.

For younger Americans, the most annoying word is a toss up: “whatever” at 27 percent, with “no offense, but” and “I can’t even” both coming in at 24 percent.

So “no offense, but” “I can’t even” tell you how “huge” “whatever” is. “You know, right”?

This Marist Poll survey of 1,005 adults was conducted between Dec. 1 and Dec. 9, 2016. For complete methodology, go here.

Photo credit: Michael Woyton/Patch Staff.