Apology for Adjectives

Adjectives get a bad rap. While nouns and verbs undoubtedly carry more clout, and while Trumpspeak has effectively “obliterated” the marginal usefulness of wastrels like “fantastic,” “disgraceful,” “nasty,” “sad,” “fake” etc., I still maintain that some adjectives continue to pack punch and pizazz. 

I quite savor the following, for example: “desultory,” “abstemious,” “lackadaisical,” “fusty,” “paltry,” “meretricious,” “befuddled.”

This teacherly benevolence, however, does NOT extend to several execrable epithets which litter the commentaries of churnalists and TikTokers: viz., “empathetic” and “demure” and “viral” and (ugh!) “vibrant.” These darlings of the media MUST be 86ed! They are, as Donald would say (using an adjectival expression only he can truly appreciate ), “very low IQ.”