Writers who make effective use of loaded language produce influential and memorable writings. The meaning of a word changes depending on how it’s used and what other words it’s used with. Loaded language exists in our everyday world. We hear them in the news, from politicians, and sometimes even from our own friends and family. When someone wants to influence you, they load their words. The art of persuasion thrives off loaded language.

What are Loaded Words?

Loaded language or emotive language is a type of language that uses loaded words or phrases to create a strong emotional response. For example, “I’m sorry” can be a loaded word if it is used in the context of a personal attack, but it is not loaded if it is used as an apology. Charged language is like loaded language, except that it is not emotional. Instead, it is simply words or phrases that are meant to insult or offend. For example, the term “pie-face” is a charged phrase that is used to insult someone.

Some people might feel uncomfortable if they are referred to by a word that suggests they are different from the majority. For example, a person with a disability might prefer to be called a “person with a disability” rather than a “disabled person.” Others might find the term offensive and choose not to use it. People with disabilities can have as much ability and potential as anyone else. The term “person with a disability” is used to emphasize that people with disabilities are just that — people. They have the same hopes, dreams, ambitions, and needs as everyone else.

Loaded Language in Action

Let’s see how everyday words can be used as loaded words in sentences with the loaded words list below. Some of these terms are loaded all on their own, and some you may be shocked to see how they can be used as loaded words.

• Evil: Everything that is wrong is not bad, and everything that is bad is not evil. The term evil causes a person to think of diabolical and sinister characteristics. It is a term broadly used in religious writings. If I describe a person’s voting decision as evil, I’ve called their moral compass into question.
• Hate: You may have heard someone say, “Hate is such a strong word.” It is. Hate, in lieu of a neutral word such as dislike, communicates the level of dislike someone has for something or someone else.
• Terrorist: It depends on who you ask, but in some spheres, martyrs are not considered heroes. When the term terrorist is used to describe anyone who kills for a cause, the term becomes charged language.
• Murder: While murder as a word is not charged, the context in which it is used can make it a loaded word. For example, if a politician gives a speech to potential voters who are against abortion, he or she may accuse abortion doctors of murder when they are simply performing a medical procedure.
• Pro-Life or Pro-Choice: Pro-“Life” suggests a person is against abortion because they are for protecting life. Pro-Choice suggests a person is in favor of abortion because they believe that a woman has the right to choose what she does with her own body. In both cases, there could be other reasons that have nothing to do with protecting life or protecting choice.
• Illegal Immigrant: The word illegal used this way about immigrants suggests a person has migrated somewhere illegally. In fact, in 2019, roughly 5 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. arrived in the U.S. by following immigration rules.
• Death Tax: This is a popular political buzz term to get constituents to oppose a tax on estates, but it has a negative connotation. Because no one is comfortable with anything that has to do with dying, saying death tax is a way to get someone to have negative feelings about estate taxes.
• Racial Purity: As a definite charge language, this term offers the ideal that a race of people should be clean from interracial mixing or that race will become inferior.
• Exploit: One can simply be taken advantage of, or they can be exploited. The word exploit conveys the extent of how one was taken advantage of and could also suggest someone has been taken advantage of for quite a while.

Positive Loaded Words

These words below are neutral and positive in their literal meaning, but if used as adjectives during talking points, they become loaded terms or key parts of loaded phrases.

• Success: The word Success on its own has no motivation or influence, but if I say, “Only successful people get 8 hours of sleep at night, so buy our mattress,” Here, we are appealing to a buyer that success is tied to getting 8 hours of sleep.
• Happy: “Happy wife, happy life” is a phrase that suggests that if the wife in a marriage is happy, then the husband should be as well. However, this doesn’t account for same-sex marriage or the real possibility that a husband can be unhappy for other reasons even though his wife is happy.
• Wealthy: Wealthy Tax Breaks or Tax Breaks for the Wealthy. (Also, Tax Breaks itself is loaded) For those who are not wealthy, the term wealthy signals privilege and special access.
• Powerful: Powerful Drugs. You’ll find this when someone desires to dissuade someone against a certain prescription. If you were having a discussion to persuade someone to use holistic measures to treat a disease, highlighting the side effects due to “powerful drugs” would do it.
• Hardworking: The hardworking middle-class. It is often believed that the lower the class of workers, the harder they must work to make ends meet. However, upper-class workers may put in just as many hours of work. The difference is in their pay, not how hard they may be working.

How Do Writers Use Loaded Language?

When used effectively, loaded language can be a powerful tool for a writer. It can help to create an emotional connection with the reader or listener, and it can also help to persuade them of a particular point of view. However, it is important to use loaded language carefully, as it can also alienate readers or listeners if it is overused or used in a way that is not appropriate for the audience.

Consider the purpose and audience for your message. If you are writing to an audience of vegans about building a vegan leather business, then you must write from an objective lens. Some euphemisms are so common that we don’t readily recognize them as loaded or charged language. For example, if we are writing to an audience of vegans, we would not use colloquialisms like, “High on the hog.” You’d greatly offend them without knowing it.

If you’re writing persuasive material, your audience must be the focus still. Instead of avoiding charge words, this is the moment you make effective use of them so you can influence them to buy. The goal is to know when to do what and how. Consider the pointers below:

• Use concrete and specific language to describe an event or object
• Use sensory language to engage the reader’s senses
• Use figurative language to create vivid images and comparisons
• Use emotive language to evoke an emotional response in the reader
• Use charged language to create a sense of urgency or excitement

The Magic Behind Loaded Words

Loaded language can be positive or negative, depending on the words that are used. Anyone who addresses an audience, whether it’s through writing or speaking, should know what loaded words are and how to use them effectively. We recommend you keep a loaded words list that pertains to your niche. Your audience will appreciate you for it.

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