Quick tip: Shun the TIONs!

2.5 minute read. 3.5 minute listen. 

I see them all across the nation, to my total consternation: puffed-up words that end in TION.

Too many people play this game of word puffery.

You just add TION to any verb, and “poof!” it turns into a noun. 

But in my book, that’s going in the wrong direction.

I believe any TION tends to move us away from concrete details into the wispy clouds of abstraction.

That’s for sneaky bureaucrats with something to hide.

Or salespeople who want to sound important without actually saying anything.

Here are three excellent reasons why writers should shun the TIONs:

• They waste words
• They encourage passive voice
• They bore audiences

You know how we always hear that telling a story sparks engagement?

I believe using a bunch of TIONs is the exact opposite of telling a story.

Where a story is concrete, direct, and specific, a report packed with TIONs is abstract, indirect, and vague.

Is that really how you want your white paper to sound?

While we’re at it, let’s throw out all the other variations like ATION and IZATION and the UK version spelled ISATION.

Sure, sometimes you can’t avoid using a TION word like “administration” or “regulation.”

But when you write, try to keep them to a minimum.

And when you revise, see if you can get rid of any that slipped in.

Some of my least favorite TIONs

The following table shows 25 of the TIONs I dislike the most, along with how to restate them using shorter, simpler verbs.

Do you have some more of your own?

P.S. I used ChatGPT to help develop this list of TIONs and DALL-E to generate the rice bowls in the graphic (they needed a lot of touchups).

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