Hedges and weasel words: say what you mean, with care
Hedges, weasel words, and intensifiers all adjust how strongly you claim something. Used well, they make writing accurate. Used by habit, they make it vague.
Every claim you make has a strength. “Sales fell” is strong. “Sales may have fallen” is weaker. “Some people say sales fell” is weaker still, and it no longer tells you who is making the claim. The words that set this strength fall into three families: hedges, weasel words, and intensifiers. Each has an honest use and a lazy one.
The Op-Ed Insight hedge words list collects common examples of all three, plus fillers.
Hedges
A hedge softens a claim. Common hedges include may, might, could, perhaps, possibly, likely, seems, appears, suggests, somewhat, relatively, generally, and tend to.
When hedging is honest
In research, journalism, medicine, and law, hedging is a matter of accuracy. If your evidence supports a probable conclusion rather than a certain one, saying so is not weakness. It is precision.
- The data suggest a link between sleep and test scores. (A correlation, not proof of cause.)
- The drug may cause drowsiness in some patients. (Not everyone, not always.)
- The fire appears to have started in the kitchen. (The investigation is not finished.)
A scholar who wrote “sleep causes higher test scores” on the basis of a single correlational study would be overstating the evidence. The hedge is the honest version.
When hedging is a reflex
Hedges become a problem when they pile up or when the writer is not uncertain at all, only nervous about committing.
Before: It could perhaps be argued that the new schedule may possibly have had a somewhat positive effect on attendance.
After: Attendance rose after the new schedule began.
Four hedges in one sentence (“could”, “perhaps”, “may possibly”, “somewhat”) leave the reader unsure whether the writer believes anything. If you have evidence, state the finding and qualify it once, in the place where the uncertainty actually lies.
Before: I think that maybe we should probably consider moving the meeting to Thursday, if that seems okay.
After: Could we move the meeting to Thursday?
The After version is still polite. The question form does the softening, and the reader knows exactly what you are asking.
One hedge, in the right place
A good rule: one hedge per claim, attached to the part that is uncertain.
Before: It seems that the results might possibly indicate that the treatment may be somewhat effective.
After: The results suggest the treatment is effective.
If the uncertainty is about the size of the effect, say that instead: “The treatment helped, though the effect was small.”
Weasel words
Weasel words create the impression of support without supplying any. The term usually refers to phrases that attribute a claim to an unnamed or vague source.
- Some say…
- Many people believe…
- It is widely thought that…
- Experts agree…
- Studies show…
- Research suggests…
- It has been claimed that…
- Critics argue…
Each of these raises a question the sentence does not answer. Which experts? Which studies? How many people? A reader who cannot check the claim has to take it on trust, and careful readers do not.
Before: Studies show that remote workers are more productive than office workers.
After: In our 2025 staff survey, remote workers closed 12 percent more tickets per week than office workers.
The After version is longer, but it is checkable, and it is honest about its limits: one company, one measure, one year. (The numbers here are an invented example to show the form.)
Fixing a weasel word
- Name the source. “A 2024 study by the state health department found…”
- Quantify. Replace “many” with a number or a proportion if you have one.
- Own it. If the claim is your own view, say “I think” or simply state it. Do not hide behind “it is believed”.
- Cut it. If you cannot support the claim at all, consider whether it belongs in the piece.
Passive constructions are a common hiding place for weasel words: “It is believed”, “It has been suggested”, “It is generally accepted”. The active vs. passive voice guide explains how these hide the actor.
Intensifiers
Intensifiers are meant to strengthen: very, really, extremely, incredibly, totally, absolutely, highly, truly.
They often do the opposite. A reader who sees “very important” registers that the writer felt the need to insist, which can suggest the point would not stand on its own. Overused intensifiers also lose force. If everything is “extremely important”, nothing is.
Before: This is a really very important update, and it is absolutely essential that everyone reads it.
After: This update changes how you file expenses. Please read it before Friday.
The After version shows why it matters (it changes something the reader does) and gives a deadline. Both do more than any intensifier.
When you do want emphasis, try these instead:
- A precise word: “critical” instead of “very important”, “exhausted” instead of “very tired”.
- A specific consequence: “If you miss this deadline, your claim will be rejected.”
- Position: put the key point at the start or end of a sentence, where readers give it the most weight. See put the main point first.
Where these words cluster
Some kinds of writing attract particular habits:
- Academic writing leans toward stacked hedges. One per claim is usually enough.
- Marketing copy leans toward intensifiers and unsourced claims (“clinically proven”, “experts recommend”). If you write these, be ready to say which clinic and which experts. In regulated industries, unsupported claims can also create legal risk.
- Workplace email leans toward softening hedges: “just”, “I think maybe”, “sorry to bother you”. These come from politeness, which is good, but too many make a request hard to find.
A quick check
When you edit, look for:
- Two or more hedges in one sentence. Keep the one that reflects real uncertainty.
- Any “studies show”, “experts say”, or “it is believed”. Add a source or rewrite.
- “Very”, “really”, and “extremely”. Replace with a precise word, or cut.
The aim is not to remove all caution or all emphasis. It is to make sure that every hedge reflects real doubt, every claim has a visible source, and every bit of emphasis points at something that deserves it.