The Lists #24 by John King et. al.

Some of the Worst Adverbs in the English Language

In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King (no relation) warns that “the road to Hell is paved with adverbs” (118), based on the idea that a more precise verb, or the more careful context of what is conveyed in scene, makes most adverbs an annoying tick of timid, lazy writing.

Here are some examples to strenuously avoid:

Suddenly

Simperingly

Hurriedly

Killingly

Mistily

Blatantly

Condescendingly

Ickily

Moistly

Hopefully

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John King (Episode, well, all of them) is a podcaster, writer, and ferret wrangler. Some of his facebook friends (Rob Davison, Demtri Kakmi, Brooke Lewis, Will Garland, Cate McGowan, Helena-Ann J. Hill, & Lisa Clare Roney) helped him mightily with this list.