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50 Redundant Phrases to Avoid Speak English: Play

By Mark Nichol
& Learn
Which In conversation, its easy in the midst of spontaneous FREE
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speech to succumb to verbosity and duplication. In (12,081)
Exam? writing, redundancy is less forgivable but fortunately easy
Speak Fluent English Now.
to rectify. Watch out for these usual suspects:
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Conversations.
1. Absolutely certain or sure/essential/guaranteed: Someone who is certain or sure is already without
doubt. Something that is essential is intrinsically absolute. A guarantee is by nature absolute (or should be).
Abandon absolutely in such usage. INSTALL
2. Actual experience/fact: An experience is something that occurred (unless otherwise indicated). A fact is
something confirmed to have happened. Actual is extraneous in these instances.
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3. Add an additional: To add is to provide another of something. Additional is extraneous.

4. Added bonus: A bonus is an extra feature, so added is redundant. Categories

5. Advance notice/planning/reservations/warning: Notices, planning, reservations, and warnings are all, Business Writing Mistakes
by their nature, actions that occur before some event, so qualifying such terms with advance is
Expressions Fiction Writing
superfluous.

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6. As for example: As implies that an example is being provided, so omit an example.
Grammar Grammar 101
7. Ask a question: To ask is to pose a question, so question is redundant.
Misused Words Punctuation
8. At the present time: At present means at this time, so avoid the verbose version.
Spelling Style
9. Basic fundamentals/essentials: Fundamentals and essentials are by their nature elementary, so
Vocabulary Word of the Day
remove basic from each phrase.

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10. (Filled to) capacity: Something filled is done so to capacity, so describing something as filled to
capacity is repetitive.

11. Came at a time when: When provides the necessary temporal reference to the action of coming; at a
time is redundant.

12. Close proximity/scrutiny: Proximity means close in location, and scrutiny means close study, so
avoid qualifying these terms with close.

13. Collaborate/join/meet/merge together: If you write of a group that collaborates or meets together,
you imply that theres another way to collect or confer. To speak of joining or merging together is, likewise,
redundant.

14. Completely filled/finished/opposite: Something that is filled or finished is thoroughly so; completely
is redundant. Something that is opposite isnt necessarily diametrically opposed, especially in qualitative
connotations, but the modifier is still extraneous.

15. Consensus of opinion: A consensus is an agreement but not necessarily one about an opinion, so Popular Articles
consensus of opinion is not purely redundant, but the phrase of opinion is usually unnecessary.
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16. (During the) course (of): During means in or throughout the duration of), so during the course of is
repetitive. 10 Rules for Writing Numbers

17. Definite decision: Decisions may not be final, but when they are made, they are unequivocal and Vocabulary Test 1
therefore definite, so one should not be described as a definite decision.
Passed vs Past
18. Difficult dilemma: A dilemma is by nature complicated, so omit difficult as a modifier.
Writing a Reference Letter

19. Direct confrontation: A confrontation is a head-on conflict. Direct as a qualifier in this case is Creative Writing 101
redundant.
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20. End result: A result is something that occurs at the end, so omit end as a modifier of result.
Among vs. Amongst

21. Enter in: To enter is to go in, so throw in out. 6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know

22. Estimated at about/roughly: An estimate is an approximation. About and roughly are superfluous. Let the Word Do the Work

23. False pretense: A pretense is a deception, so false is redundant. How to Format a US Business Letter

24. Few in number: Few refers to a small number; do not qualify few with the modifier in number. That vs. Which

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25. Final outcome: An outcome is a result and is therefore intrinsically final.
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26. First began, new beginning: A beginning is when something first occurs, so first and new are
superfluous terms in these cases. Inquire vs. Enquire

27. For a period/number of days: Days is plural, so a duration is implied; a period of or a number of is 25 Pieces of Writing Software
redundant. Its better to specify the number of days or to generalize with many.
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28. Foreign imports: Imports are products that originate in another country, so their foreign nature is
Cannot or Can Not?
implicit and the word foreign is redundant.
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29. Forever and ever: Ever is an unnecessary reduplication of forever.
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30. Free gift: A gift is by definition free (though cynics will dispute that definition), so free is extraneous.
Wether, Weather, Whether
31. Invited guests: Guests are intrinsically those who have an invitation, so invited is redundant.
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32. Major breakthrough: A breakthrough is a significant progress in an effort. Though major is not directly
Yours Faithfully or Yours Sincerely?
redundant, the notable nature of the event is implicit.
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33. [Number] a.m. in the morning/p.m. in the evening: The abbreviations a.m. and p.m. already identify
the time of day, so omit in the morning or in the evening. Grammar Test 1

34. Past history/record: A history is by definition a record of past occurrences, and a record is Program vs. Programme
documentation of what has already happened. In both cases, past is redundant.
Writing Prompts 101
35. Plan ahead: To plan is to prepare for the future. Ahead is extraneous.
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36. Possibly might: Might indicates probability, so omit the redundant qualifier possibly. What Is Irony? (With Examples)

37. Postpone until later: To postpone is to delay. Later is superfluous. 100 Beautiful and Ugly Words

38. Protest against: To protest is to communicate opposition. Against is redundant. 7 Grammatical Errors That Aren't

39. Repeat again: To repeat is to reiterate an action, so again is unnecessary.

40. Revert back: Something that reverts returns to an earlier state. Back is superfluous. Follow DailyWritingTips

41. Same identical: Same and identical are just that (and that). Omit same as a qualifier for identical.

42. Since the time when: Since indicates a time in the past; the time when is superfluous.

43. Spell out in detail: To spell out is to provide details, so in detail is repetitive.

44. Still remains: Something that remains is still in place. Still is redundant.

45. Suddenly exploded: An explosion is an immediate event. It cannot be any more sudden than it is.

46. Therapeutic treatment: Treatment in the sense of medical care is by nature therapeutic, so the
adjective is redundant.

47. Unexpected surprise: No surprise is expected, so the modifier is extraneous.

48. Unintended mistake: A mistake is an inadvertently erroneous action. The lack of intention is implicit.

49. Usual custom: A custom is something routinely and repeatedly done or observed, and usual is
redundant.
50. Written down: Something written has been taken down. Down is superfluous.

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64 Responses to 50 Redundant Phrases to Avoid

Tom Jacobs on October 18, 2011 2:01 am

Talking about redundancies:

how about the largest ever?
Largest being in the superlative form, indicates the biggest in size that has been and always will be, so
ever does not add any meaning, only irritation (although that might be my personal experience).

Cecily on October 18, 2011 5:06 am

A caveat that I think work making explicit: all those examples can be redundant, but that doesnt mean all
of them are always redundant.

Gary on October 18, 2011 5:31 am

Excellent list and a good reminder of the traps we fall into. How about phrases like over and above and
aid and abet?

Sue OShields on October 18, 2011 9:30 am

Regarding #7, you can ask a favor as well as a question.

Roger Whitehead on October 18, 2011 10:14 am

New innovation comes up often.

New innovation comes up often.

Protest against is the normal usage in British English. To protest originally meant to declare formally in
public or to assert. We still here talk about people protesting their innocence.

Roger

Prem Rao on October 18, 2011 10:16 am

Very useful compilation. Some others that come to mind include current status, future plans and
agonizing pain!

Matt M on October 18, 2011 10:54 am

In sports:

New career high

Aimee Graham on October 18, 2011 11:09 am

Speaking of things that are redundant.reduplication???

Paul M on October 18, 2011 11:13 am

Many of these are so common, particularly in speech, I think I will have a hard time eliminating some of
them without a conscious effort.

Thanks again Mark.

Laurie Boris on October 18, 2011 11:22 am

This is wonderful! May I add my favorite redundancy, completely destroyed? This was one of the first
phrases my Journalism 101 professor taught us to avoid. But I frequently hear and read this in the news.
Ugh!

Stephanie on October 18, 2011 11:37 am

Dont forget the reason is because!

Simon on October 18, 2011 12:27 pm

#3 is wrong.

I have a salad, with two tomatoes in it

I can add some eggs to my salad
Or, I can add an additional tomato to the tomatoes that I already have.

Me on October 18, 2011 12:29 pm

23. False pretense This is a legal term and so would be quite valid in formal writing. Pretense as used in
this phrase does not mean deception, but instead the older definition of a claim.

thebluebird11 on October 18, 2011 12:48 pm

Oh, I am woundedI am guilty of using many of those redundancies. They are so ubiquitous in the
media, your ears get used to hearing them, you dont even think twice about using them yourself. Some
may have started almost as jokes (like actual fact), and then spread like a virus. I solemnly swear (is that
redundant?) that I will try to be more careful!
Nevertheless, there are some I would hesitate to banish. For example, added bonus. You have
something advertised on TV, but wait! Theres more! A bonus! Then another bonus! And if you order
nowall these added bonuses!
@Prem Rao, I will inform you that there is something called a Pain Score, usually from zero (no pain) to
10. So there are degrees of pain, and agonizing iswell, pick a number from 1 to 10.
And as any mother will tell you, you CAN repeat things, againand againand still your kids dont hear it.
Or is it better just to say re-repeat?
There are more with which I could take issue but I need to get back to work!

Caryn Gootkin on October 18, 2011 1:35 pm

and what about very unique?

Carole Raschella on October 18, 2011 1:38 pm

My fathers pet peeve, which he passed on to me, was absolutely unique, or almost unique, etc.
Unique is unique.

Don on October 18, 2011 2:19 pm

To follow up on previous comments:

So ubiquitous.
The reason why.

Frank Bonham on October 18, 2011 3:06 pm

I disagree with a lot of these. Often an idea is repeating quite intentionally for emphasis. If you had to be
somewhere at 3 a.m., adding in the morning makes reinforces a time that you would not expect to be
doing something.
Add an additional is often completely appropriate. As another commenter mentioned, if something is
already part of a set (their example was tomatoes in a salad), saying, I am going to add a tomato would
be unclear since there is already tomato contained within the salad.
If you say something, and then you repeat and you need to say it a third time, repeat again would be
the proper description of that action.
Invited guest is also valid. Nowhere in the definition of guest is the word invitation. If I show up at your
house and you allow me to enter, I am a guest whether you invited me or not.
While I agree that some of these truly fit the definition of redundancy, many of them are more about
adding emphasis to a particular point.
As some one who has worked both as a writer and a copy editor, I think there can be a tendency to over
copy edit and take too much out of the writing.

Steve on October 18, 2011 5:04 pm

If I were petty and unappreciative (and Im not), Id point out that since one should always avoid
redundancy, the title of your post may have extra words.

However, that points out the difference between using words properly for emphasis, as the title, and your
50 examples.

AnWulf on October 18, 2011 5:15 pm

Sorry Prem but nothing wrong with your byspels:

current status status just means standing. You can have a past, current, or future status. An update on
the status of the bill could be rewritten as an updated status. Shorter and clearer.

future plans The current plan is to make the house 1,000 sq ft, future plans are to expand it.

agonizing pain There are many different levels of pain.

Clint on October 18, 2011 7:38 pm

To Tom: Depending on the context, Largest ever could be okay (Largest of all time vs. Largest in his third
grade class).
To Prem: Agonizing pain is acceptable, because pain can exist, but may not be necessarily agonizing.

shirley in berkeley on October 18, 2011 8:42 pm

Re 29, are you saying that Handel blew it in the Hallelujah Chorus? I always liked that . . . and He shall
reign forever and ever! interwoven and repeated, again and again (I guess repeated would have been
enough). Often people duplicate meanings for emphasis, to strengthen a phrase, and even though its
unnecessary, sometimes its forgivable (and yes, sometimes not).

Arwen Taylor on October 18, 2011 9:28 pm

I think a lot of people write how they speak, so these things end up in their writing. I certainly recognized
several sins I commit often. Im working to improve my writing, so thank you for posting this list. It will
certainly come in handy.

Brian on October 18, 2011 10:18 pm

I am fond of people saying figment of my imagination. Not sure where else figments exist except in the
imagination. It always makes me smile a bit to hear it.
Steve M. on October 19, 2011 12:43 am

I disagree that a number of these are always (or even often) incorrect. Even if some of the examples Ive
singled out are grammatically incorrect (and I am not aware that they are), I dont see any reason they
should be.

1. People commonly refer to levels of certainty or surety (e.g. Im pretty sure, but Im not absolutely
sure). In order to revise this, one would have to completely change the construction to something more
formal and perhaps awkward.

2. There is nothing wrong with ask a question. You often need both a verb and a noun to complete a
sentence (and as someone above has mentioned, you can ask a favour as well as a question). The only
alternative is: can I ask you something? Of course the something in this case is a question, and there is
no benefit to changing it out.

10 / 14. Filled to capacity is useful because one can legitimately say filled without meaning full (the
latter being the intended meaning of filled to capacity). The filled to capacity is just a way of formally
emphasizing the full part to people who might interpret full as almost full.

20 / 25. In the course of a chain of events, there may be many results of many actions. The end result is
a useful way of referring to the ultimate, or last, consequence in this chain.

29. I think forever and ever is a useful idiomatic way of drawing attention to the incomprehensibility of
the concept, but thats just me.

35. How else are you supposed to use this word in the imperative? Would you ever look at the person
next to you and say plan! without another word?

36. Not sure, but I think this has some important idiomatic usages. Off the top of my head, I associate the
down with copying or recording information, rather than writing original content (for which one might
be inclined to use written up?)

I have the notes from last class written, you might say, but it would sound rather strange to say so
instead of just saying that you wrote them down (FROM the board, where they were put UP). If you can
write something down (and I think you can) then why cant things can be written down?

JSH on October 19, 2011 12:53 am

This article says these redundancies are to be avoided in writing, without being specific about what kind
of writing. I believe theres nothing wrong with using the majority of the examples cited here, except in
the most formal cases. Everyone literally everyone pads their speech with unnecessary adverbs in
real life. Accept the hyperbole and move on.

Some of these examples are just plain wrong anyway. Like invited guests supposedly being a
redundancy because guests are by nature invited. Not true. There is such a thing as an unexpected guest.

monty on October 19, 2011 1:14 am

thanks,i know most of the word but for some words,i know different meaning of that word.here i know
new meaning of that word.i much like your article.there need some more words so that it will more
helpful and that words should be used in our general life.anyway,this will improve our vocab surly.

Vy on October 19, 2011 3:15 am

wow this is really useful. this site ROCKS.

Stephen on October 19, 2011 8:07 am

Great list. Ill second Dons suggested phrase, the reason why which I hear too often.

Linda on October 19, 2011 10:07 am

Most of these sound like 1st year literal translations of Caesar.

David on October 19, 2011 11:19 am

You have misunderstood many of these and their uses. Some are used as emphasis. Others make perfect
sense e.g. I could plan a lesson shortly before it starts or I could plan ahead by preparing things days or
weeks in advance.
Terry Odell on October 19, 2011 1:07 pm

My high school Latin teacher hated redundancies, especially in advertising. One of his pet peeves: Free
Gift.

Another he didnt like from its earliest beginnings to its final completion.

evelyn lewis on October 19, 2011 6:43 pm

What about irregardless? Thats a regular one.

Julia on October 19, 2011 7:42 pm

Ah I am definitely bookmarking this list. I just realized how frequently I litter my writing with redundant
phrases. I say ask a question and plan ahead ALL the time. Oops!

Sally on October 19, 2011 10:58 pm

Sorry, but I must jump up and down, waving my hand and yelling about dialect differences.

We in the British commonwealth are wont to protest *against* something, not protest something.

We are also more ikely to appeal *against* a decision, not simply appeal a decision.

Commercial media, with their greater openness to US cultural imperialism, have made headway with the
latter phrase here but have barely begun their assault on the former.

Geosota on October 19, 2011 11:11 pm

Rate of speed is redundant. Speed is a rate. In fact, most usage of the words rate of leads to a
redundancy, e.g., rate of return.

Dr D P Singh on October 20, 2011 3:33 am

Ashamed to say, I am guilty of many of these obvious errors. However, No. 34 is commonly used by
doctors. After a patient tells us his main symptoms or complaints, we elicit details about the present
illness and then go on to The Past History which includes minutiae of previous diseases like treatment
and outcome. Then we move on to information about occupation and so on.
So Past History has become an integral part of the medical lexicon.

What really irritates me is the widespread and unwarranted use of the acronym SOS in prescriptions
when a drug has to be administered to a patient when needed for a specific complaint rather than as a
routine (this is very common in India). The correct term is PRN or prn and stands for pro re nata, meaning
when necessary in Latin.

ApK on October 20, 2011 10:23 pm

A stimulating post! I had not considered some of these before, and its alerted me to some good editing
fodder.

Until Sue pointed out asking a favor I was slapping myself about ask a question. Of course! I thought,
You cant ask a statement!

I see a lot of these examples as potentially redundant, but often they can be used effectively for emphasis
or to clarify an ambiguity.

Geosota, a rate of return can be 5%, the return can be $10 on the $200 investment.

Brian, it could be a figment of your imagination, or a figment of my imagination.

ApK

Barbara on October 24, 2011 5:45 am

Heres another one for you, New & Improved its either new or its an improvement on an old version.
This one drives me mad because advertising is littered with it!

Mark Nichol on October 24, 2011 1:55 pm

Barbara:

Its been my experience that manufacturers claiming that a product is new and improved are invariably
Its been my experience that manufacturers claiming that a product is new and improved are invariably
only half right.

SimplyMe on October 27, 2011 2:12 am

I agree with SteveM among some other comments. I think a lot of usage has to be taken by the context it
is used in. Most of the phrases here I have seen asbeing used by best selling authors.

I am not an expert nor claim to know English well enough to write without mistakes. We all need
reminders of corrections that can be made which would make our work better.

I must say this site is very useful for beginners like me to improve our writing skills.

thebluebird11 on October 27, 2011 12:21 pm

@Brian: What if something is a figment of YOUR imagination and not mine? (sorry ApK, just saw you said
the same thing LOL)
@Frank Bonham: PLEASE skip the redundancy of in the morning (and the like) if youve already said AM.
Almost as bad as when someone says The La Brea Tar Pits (which is like saying the-the- tar-tar pits). I
think that whoever youre speaking to (the people to whom you are speaking) will get it if you just say 3
AM. If you arent sure if they will get it, you could pause, then say dramatically, in the MORNING! Im
pretty sure, though, that that wont be necessary.
@Dr DP Singh: Past History is definitely redundant. I sit on both sides of the microphone, being a PA
(physician assistant) and an MT (medical transcriptionist). As a PA, when I dictate or write, I use Medical
History, and as a transcriptionist, I will only put Medical History, Surgical History (i.e. not past surgical
history), etc. By definition, if its history, its in the past.

Excellent comments on this post

Bill on October 30, 2011 6:10 am

and my personal love-to-hate redundancy, Whether or not it should be on this list, causes me to wonder
whether editors really pay attention to grammar?

Elizabeth on November 08, 2011 11:55 pm

Strategic plan. Advice we often give in our writing tips: verbosity does not make you smarter, it just
makes you verbose.

Warsaw Will on December 17, 2011 10:06 pm

@Bill Whether you like it or not, whether or not is, according to MWDEU, perfectly good, idiomatic
English, which has been around for 300 years. It was, for example, good enough for the likes of George
Bernard Shaw and John Updike.

Incidentally my first or not there was grammatically absolutely essential and no redundancy was
involved, even if I could care two hoots if it was lifes too short. No doubt that absolutely, too, will be
seen as redundancy in some peoples eyes. But that was my instinctive choice; I needed an intensifier,
and so it stays.

Lisa on December 21, 2011 1:09 pm

Close proximity makes my teeth itch!

Some day I want to live in a world where nobody says close proximity or tries to spell definitely with an
a.

Catskul on December 31, 2011 7:53 pm

It should be noted that may of these can be used legitimately, and should only be avoided where they
really are redundant, and dont offer appropriate emphasis.

Close proximity, for example, is not always redundant, but can contrast to clarify the difference between
general proximity and something closer.

And consider:
The room is filled with people. vs The room is filled to capacity with people.

Paul Boos on June 20, 2012 3:48 pm

You missed my favorite redundancy; as per. It is either As or Per; they both mean the same thing.
venqax on October 15, 2012 5:33 pm

One that always irks me is direct descendant, as in, She is a direct descendant of Stephen Foster.
Either one is a descendant, as opposed to simply a relative, or one is not. What would an indirect
descendant be? Is there some way in which nobility, or someone, uses the notion of descent that differs
from what the word is plainly?

A on October 09, 2013 4:15 pm

Is there redundancy in falling down and climbing up? There is such thing as falling up and climbing
down. But in a sense, falling means going down and climbing means going up. What do you think?

C on December 19, 2013 11:14 am

The one that irks me is reply back.

Faisal Abbas on March 07, 2014 1:40 am

Some time redundancy is to add emphasis or to the reduce the chance of incorrect interpretations.

Communication is not just about saying the right words it is also about being rightly understood.

Not a scientist I see on March 19, 2014 3:53 am

I guess you are not a scientist as the point about an outcome and result reveals a certain cluelessness.

20. end result

25. final outcome

You can of course have preliminarily results which are not final.
You suggest not using qualifiers such as end or final as if results or outcomes are automatically final.

If only, my friend, if only the world were so simple.

You can certainly have preliminary results which indicate a trend but which are not final. No need to be a
scientist, just think of elections

John on June 17, 2014 6:34 am

Sometimes when I watch a trailer, I see this warning: may contain content inappropiate for children,
inst this redundant? Shouldnt it be may include content or may contain audiovisual material. Who
approved that nonsense?

Rob Molecule on September 02, 2014 1:20 pm

Maybe it should have been clarified that many of these are not redundant when making comparisons. As
mentioned above, you can describe someone climbing up and climbing down, but if you are describing
someone only climbing up, it is sufficient to just say climbing; nobody would be confused as to the
direction someone climbed.

Scott Donnelly on September 12, 2014 6:44 am

Number 39:
To repeat is to reiterate an action. Ironically, your use of reiterate is itself redundant. In this case the
word iterate is more appropriate.

You _can_ repeat an action again, if you have already repeated it. In which case, reiterate may be
appropriate.

Welles Brandriff on November 24, 2014 10:46 am

Another redundancy that bothers me is very unique

or I once heard someone say extremely unique

Raul Suarez on November 27, 2014 2:34 pm

While it is important to keep these in mind and not repeat them mindlessly, I dont completely agree with
this list:

From my perspective some of the phrases are clearly wrong:

Added Bonus
Added Bonus
Foreign imports

Some should not be on the list as they can be context appropriate

End result: A larger activity can have smaller activities that have results. Those results can be considered
as results of the larger activity, however, the larger activity will have an end result.
While the preliminary tests came up positive (this is the result of the preliminary tests), the end result
was a clean bill of health.

Ask a question. You can asks for: a favour, a clarification, change, compassion, etc. Not always a
question.

Some are used as Decorators that add effect or intention to a word. The context needs to be
considered.
Major breakthrough: Breakthrough objective: overcome an obstruction. Major is relative. This is why
context is relevant in this case. Giving her first steps is a breakthrough for any child, but for Mary, it was
a major breakthrough after her accident

Andrew on February 11, 2015 11:51 am

There is a bonus redundancy in #14, diametrically opposed.

carl on April 20, 2015 3:06 pm

Lawyers love using this one: above captioned.

If it is captioned, it is above. It is above in a document caption, it is captioned. Try putting a caption

somewhere else.

Michael Bagamery on April 28, 2015 5:10 pm

Comprised of so irks me. To comprise means to consist of, so the phrase comprised of means
consists of of.

Kulturtrager on August 22, 2015 9:47 pm

Raul Suarez writes, Ask a question. You can asks for: a favour, a clarification, change, compassion, etc.
Not always a question.

Sigh. These are ALL questions. You are incorrect Mr. Suarez.

The lack of logic from some posters here is depressing.

One writes, Some of these examples are just plain wrong anyway. Like invited guests supposedly being
a redundancy because guests are by nature invited. Not true. There is such a thing as an unexpected
guest.

Another, Frank Bonham writes, Invited guest is also valid. Nowhere in the definition of guest is the word
invitation. If I show up at your house and you allow me to enter, I am a guest whether you invited me or
not.

Someone becomes a guest as soon as they are permitted entry. Being expected or unexpected is
irrelevant.

Invited guest is a redundant phrase. No question.

Len on November 12, 2015 8:18 am

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a MORE PERFECT union. There is no greater degree
of perfect. Even the authors of the US Constitution were guilty of redundancy!

Rod on June 28, 2016 5:44 pm

In general, any form of the word utilize, or usage can be substituted with the less pretentious word use.

The word articulate is often used when describe would be more appropriate. Articulation is generally a
mechanical description.

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