Synonyms: Amazing

On Friday, we published a story about the man who faked his own death in a plane crash and is being sued for the millions related to a damaged airplane he sold 8 years ago. He faked his own death in January because he was already going broke, got caught, was in a sh*t-ton of trouble for that and now is getting is even more over something he did a long time.

This is only one small story, but I think it fits into the larger theme of our current, global situation: Everyone is now accountable. Four easy words, but I think for most people, a very tough pill to swallow.

I know what you’re thinking: I’ve never committed fraud. I’m not rich. I barely know what short-selling is and I still kind of don’t get the premise behind sub-prime mortgages–but I want to be held accountable, too? What are my options?

Here’s a thought. Over the weekend, two people pointed out to me that I had become repellingly foul-mouthed. (I used the C-word, loudly, in Union Square, near the Virgin Atlantic megastore, no less.) I realized that, as my mother had always said, cursing signifies lack of vocabulary. When I swapped out the curse, I found that 3-4 sentences were need to describe what I meant.

I’ve often found that the same is true for superlative words. A while back, a friend pointed out to be that “amazing” has become a quite empty word, or at the very least, non-descriptive. The actual definition of the words entails an element of shock, but when people use it, they usually mean, “very cool.”

So I brainstormed a list of words to be used instead. To kick off what I’m calling, “Accountability Week,” next time you want to say “amazing,” choose a more descriptive word:

remarkable
stunning
brilliant
inspiring
transcendent
stupendous
incendiary
radiant
explosive
immeasurable
striking
touching
effective
ecstatic
influential
invaluable
delicious
delightful
palpable
tremendous
fantastic
fabulous
awesome
elite
superlative
splendid

P.S Someone else read this list and replied, “Genius.” The list is probably not genius, but genius is also a good word to use instead of “amazing.”