Meaning & use
clutter words
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
Words that add no meaning and make writing less clear, such as unnecessary adverbs or filler phrases.
Grammar: Always plural; it refers to multiple words. Use a plural verb: Clutter words are easy to remove.
Patterns
- remove clutter words
- avoid clutter words
- a list of clutter words
The editor told me to remove clutter words like 'very' and 'really' from my essay.
Clutter words can make a simple sentence hard to read.
She highlighted the clutter words in yellow so I could see them.
Common combinations
- remove clutter words
- Remove clutter words to make your writing stronger.
- avoid clutter words
- Good writers avoid clutter words in formal reports.
- clutter words in a sentence
- There are several clutter words in this sentence that you can delete.
Synonyms and how they differ
- filler words
- Filler words are spoken sounds or phrases like 'um' or 'you know' that fill pauses; clutter words are written words that add no meaning.
- wordiness
- Wordiness is the general quality of using too many words; clutter words are the specific words that cause it.
Commonly confused: clutter words or clutter?
clutter words vs clutter
Clutter as a noun means a mess of things, not words. Clutter words is a specific term for unnecessary words in writing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'clutter words' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Clutter words are unnecessary words in writing, so you remove them from a text. Option A confuses it with physical clutter; option C uses it as a verb, which it is not; option D is unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “clutter words”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.