Types of Ableist Language and What to Say Instead
www.verywellmind.com
Unknowingly, most of us say many ableist things regularly. Here's a guide to help you be aware of those words and what you can say instead.

We already do this with some slurs, right? We can start enforcing these words, too.

Not calling anyone out, I’ve been guilty of it too. And we don’t have to do it all at once. Like, we can start with these:

Ableist words and alternatives.

Stupid, R€tarded, Idiot(ic), Cretin, or Moron(ic): People say this to imply something, or someone isn't intelligent or worth their time, but the words refer to people with intellectual disabilities. Instead, say that a situation or person is frustrating, ignorant, dense, unpleasant, cheesy, or awful.

Dumb: This word refers to a person who doesn't speak verbally, but people often use it to mean that something or someone isn't intelligent or wise. It's listed separately from stupid and its synonyms because it references a physical disability instead of an intellectual one. Try using any of the non-ableist synonyms like irritating or uncool.

Crazy, Nuts, Mad, Psycho, or Insane: "Wow, that's crazy!" may not seem like a harmful statement, but if you think about someone with a mental health condition hearing that statement, it's easy to realize that it is. So instead of using one of those words, try outrageous, bananas, bizarre, amazing, intense, extreme, overwhelming, or wild.

    • GarbageShoot [he/him]
      ·
      1 year ago

      I can't tell if you're joking but "nuts" as an adjective or adverb can very easily be banned with zero overlap there. As an adjective in cooking, the uncountable form "nut" is used, "nuts" only being used as a noun.

      • Orcocracy [comrade/them]
        ·
        1 year ago

        Honest question because I don’t know: is an automated banned word filter able to tell the difference between “Add 50g of nuts to the dough” and “that person is nuts”? My assumption was no, but perhaps these things aren’t as bad as they used to be.