Stop using “simply.”

Why simplify life? Why portray something as less than it is?

Life isn’t simple. There is nothing simple about being alive. So why put this unnecessary word before adjectives?

“Simply delicious,” “simply incredible,” “simply delightful.”

All of these gorgeous, descriptive words are taken down a notch with this added simplifier.

It’s like saying that the meal you are eating is “just delicious,” why can’t it be delicious? Delicious, with all its corresponding layers and facets.

Every inch of life is complex and emotional, and language has been designed to reflect that complexity.

Then we get the word “simply,” and that complexity is thrown out the window.
I think what bothers me is that we feel the necessity to limit these descriptions, and take their power away from them. When we put the word “simply” before an adjective, the reader’s attention is now on this predecessor rather than the adjective that is actually describing something.

We have this abundance of multifaceted linguistic gifts and we choose to inhibit the performance of them.

Why can’t the view be beautiful and invigorating? Why is it “simply beautiful?” Beauty is not simple. When we use “simply,” there is little room for improvement or for development. It is done, the description and the experience is over at that word. And we can’t take it back.

Once we brand something with the unforgiving “simply,” then we are stuck with a two-dimensional version of what could have been an engaging sensory experience.
Don’t take the raw power of a word away with this crippling additive.

Not to mention, you sound snobbish. Simply is the bourgeois word for not wanting to elaborate. It’s as if putting it before a description entitles you to just stop talking without the need to evolve your opinion.

Why is it beautiful? How is it beautiful? What emotions does it stir in you?
Apparently none worth noting.

We are given these words, all of these succulent words and we don’t use them the way they could be–to their fullest potential.

Simply, is a way to dumb down an explanation; to cut around the edges, avoiding substance and actual emotion. It is a cowardly description.

Do not be afraid of words. Do not be afraid to feel. Sights are supposed to astound you and leave you breathless, not wordless. Experiences are supposed to shock you, but not leave you mute to the descriptive power of the written language.
Use it! All of it; every inch of it. There’s no need to simplify your expressions. Readers want to know more.

Humans are naturally curious; we are born hungry to live vicariously through the words and eyes of others. So give us that.

Feed us with your colorful language and your inspired philosophies. Don’t deprive your readers or listeners of the knowledge and insight that you possess inside of you.

It’s a selfish act to use the word “simply.” You swindle the audience and yourself of a potentially rewarding moment.

Just think for a moment about how many words you know—how many possibilities you have to express the opinions that you are entitled to.

Then think for a moment again, and don’t make one of those words “simply.”