Keep "Whatever" Out of Your Marriage

You've heard it. "Whatever" -- one little word said with a sarcastic or exasperated tone that can say a great deal.

Hopefully, you won't reach the stage of "whatever" in your marriage. Because if you do reach "whatever", your marriage could be close to divorce.

December 2011 Update:

According to The Marist Poll, “whatever” remains the most annoying word or phrase in conversation today. 38% of Americans "say 'whatever' grates on their nerves the most."

"Whatever" is Annoying

Although "whatever" didn't make the University of Oxford's list of the top 10 most annoying phrases, the Marist Institute for Public Opinion conducted a poll in 2009 that revealed that 47% of Americans found the word "whatever" to be the most annoying word or phrase.

Michael Hill: "“Whatever” — pronounced “WHAT’-ehv-errr” when exasperated —- is an expression with staying power. Immortalized in song by Nirvana (“oh well, whatever, nevermind”) in 1991, popularized by the Valley girls in Clueless later that decade, it is still commonly used, often by younger people."

"It can be an all-purpose argument-ender or a signal of apathy. And it can really be annoying."
Source: Michael Hill. "Poll finds most annoying word -- 'whatever'" MSNBC.msn.com. 10/08/2009.

How "Whatever" May Be Heard

• "I don't want to hear what you have to say."
• "I can't be bothered to argue with you over this."
• "You aren't important to me."
• "It doesn't matter what I say, do, choose, or think, you'll disagree."
• "Just do what you want."

"Whatever" Can Hurt Your Marriage

Saying "whatever" is rude and insensitive. It is in the same category as "I don't care" and the eye roll. If you want a sure fire way to annoy your spouse, keep using "whatever" in your conversations. If you want to save your marriage, eliminate "whatever" from your vocabulary.