The numbers are in at The Marist Institute for Public Opinion—a New York college-based survey center that’s been providing poll results for over thirty years—and the conclusion is less than surprising but (apparently) no less annoying: for the third year in a row, the people have decided that “whatever” is the most annoying word currently in use.
We could go into how the connotation of “whatever” has turned its meaning into something beyond just “anything and everything“—a change that contributes to its standing. Instead, we’ll just let you enjoy the pleasure of possessing the knowledge of which word to use if you really want to get on someone’s nerves (unless, of course, you’re this girl).