Find and cut filler words in your writing
This filler word finder highlights the words that pad a sentence without adding meaning — fillers such as just, actually and basically, intensifiers such as very and really, hedges such as perhaps and I think, weasel words such as studies show and some people say, and redundant pairs such as each and every or end result. Each type gets its own colour, and a strength score shows how tight the text is.
Cutting filler is the quickest way to make writing sound confident. It helps students trimming an essay to the word limit, job seekers tightening a cover letter, presenters rehearsing a talk (spoken fillers such as um and you know are included) and anyone sending an important email. One click removes the safe fillers and fixes the punctuation around them.
Your text is analysed in your browser and never uploaded.
How to use the Filler Word Finder
- Paste or type your text into Your text.
- Check the strength score (out of 100) and the counts for each type of word.
- Look at the colour-coded Highlighted text; hover over or tap a highlight to see what to do with it.
- Use the Words found table to see which words you lean on most.
- Press Remove safe fillers to delete the safe words and shorten redundant pairs — Undo brings the original back — then Copy cleaned text.
Filler Word Finder features
Five kinds of weak words
Fillers, hedges, intensifiers, weasel words and redundant pairs, each with its own colour and advice.
One-click clean-up
Removes only words that are safe to cut almost anywhere, deletes a leftover comma (“Basically, I…” → “I…”), re-capitalises the sentence and swaps redundant pairs for their short form.
Strength score
Weighted weak words per 100 words, turned into a score where 100 means no padding; weasel words count one and a half times because they undermine claims.
Spoken fillers too
Um, uh, you know and I mean are included, which makes it useful for checking a speech or a transcript.
Phrase-aware matching
Multi-word phrases are matched as a whole and words are only matched on word boundaries, so justice is never mistaken for just.
Types of filler and what to do about them
| Type | Examples | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Filler | just, actually, basically, literally | Delete |
| Intensifier | very, really, extremely, totally | Choose a stronger word: “very tired” → “exhausted” |
| Hedge | perhaps, probably, I think, it seems | Keep only real uncertainty |
| Weasel words | studies show, experts agree, up to | Name the study, the expert or the figure |
| Redundant pair | each and every, end result, plan ahead | Use the shorter form |
Use judgement, not just deletion
Filler words are not always wrong. “Just” can mean “only” or “fairly” (“just enough”, “a just decision”), “really” can mean “in reality”, and a well-placed hedge is honest when evidence is limited. That is why the one-click clean-up leaves hedges and weasel words alone and why every change appears in the preview before you copy it.
Intensifiers are the easiest win: replacing “very big” with “huge” or “really good” with “excellent” makes the sentence shorter and stronger at once.
- Read the cleaned text aloud before you use it.
- Next, check stock phrases with the Cliché Finder, sentence rhythm with the Sentence Length Analyzer and overall difficulty with the Readability Checker.
Filler Word Finder FAQ
What are filler words?
Words that add length but little meaning, such as just, really, actually, basically and very. In speech they also include um, uh and you know.
How does the filler word finder score my text?
It counts weak words per 100 words (weasel words weigh 1.5) and subtracts eight points per weighted word per 100 from 100. A score above 85 means the writing is tight.
What does “Remove safe fillers” change?
It deletes very, really, just, actually, basically, literally, totally, simply, quite, rather, somewhat and spoken fillers, and shortens redundant pairs. Hedges and weasel words are never removed automatically. Undo restores your text.
What are weasel words?
Vague phrases that make a claim sound supported without saying by whom or how much — “studies show”, “experts agree”, “up to 50% off”.
Why did a hedge appear after I removed fillers?
Removing words can join a phrase back together: “I just really think” becomes “I think”, which is a hedge. The counts always describe the text as it is now, so run the check again after each edit and decide whether that hedge should stay.
Does it work for speeches and transcripts?
Yes. Paste a transcript to count spoken fillers such as um, uh, you know and I mean; the strength score then gives a quick measure of how polished the delivery was.
Is my text private?
Yes. The analysis runs in your browser; nothing is sent or saved.