definitely
adv : without question and beyond doubt"I'm so definitely there."
"I definitely just ate an entire bag of pork rinds."
"He's definitely not coming to the paper mache costume party."
In a world of continuous upheaval and rare certainty, this word is definitely used too much. See? However, it is likely because of this uncertainty that so many choose to employ the word. Let's try to fix this up a little bit to express the same meaning, but without the definitely.
"I'm so emphatically there!"
"I can affirm with unwavering confidence that I just consumed an entire package of Super Bowl delectables."
"He is decidedly and unquestionably not coming to the paper mache costume party because no one wants that much paste on his or her skin."
Much better. Maybe. You know what? I don't care. Use "definitely". Just don't spell it "definately". It's like spelling "God" as "Gawd".
Do you know of a word that is unquestionably being overused? Email the central bureau here at kcurran1 (at) nd (dot) edu to report. Gawdspeed.
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