Free tool
Every flagged phrase, with a replacement
This scans pasted text against a dictionary of corporate phrases, wordy constructions, and hedging words, then lists every hit with its position and a plain English replacement. It also reports what share of your words are flagged, so you can see whether the problem is one paragraph or the whole draft.
Last reviewed 27 August 2026
Result
Flagged phrases found
12
Across 58 words
Share of words flagged
37.9%
Under one percent is tight. Over three percent needs a rewrite.
Every hit, in order
| At | Flagged | Replace with |
|---|---|---|
| word 3 | utilize | use |
| word 8 | in order to | to |
| word 12 | actionable | usable |
| word 17 | At this point in time | now |
| word 28 | bandwidth | time you can give it |
| word 32 | deep dive | detailed look |
| word 35 | going forward | from now on |
| word 39 | circle back | follow up |
| word 46 | robust | reliable |
| word 52 | align | agree |
| word 53 | stakeholders | the people affected |
| word 56 | best practice | the usual method |
Your text with every hit marked
We will [utilize] the new reporting workflow [in order to] produce [actionable] insights across the business. [At this point in time] the team does not have the [bandwidth] to conduct a [deep dive], so [going forward] we will [circle back] once we have a more [robust] process in place and can [align] [stakeholders] around a [best practice] approach.
At 37.9% of your words this needs rewriting rather than editing. Take the worst paragraph, say the same thing out loud to a colleague, and write down what you said.
How this works
What the numbers mean.
- 01The dictionary holds 128 entries in three groups: corporate abstractions, wordy constructions that have a shorter form, and hedging words that weaken a sentence. Every entry carries its replacement, so the output is an instruction rather than a complaint.
- 02Matching is case insensitive and respects word boundaries, so a flagged term sitting inside a longer word is not counted. Where two entries overlap the longer one wins and the hit is reported once.
- 03The share of flagged words matters more than the raw count. A four thousand word guide with twelve hits is fine. A two hundred word email with twelve hits needs rewriting rather than editing.
- 04Your text is reprinted with every hit in square brackets. Density is easier to see in place than in a table, and clustering usually points at the one paragraph that needs redrafting.
Assumptions and limits
- A dictionary cannot read context. Some flagged phrases are the correct technical term in your sentence, and the replacement will be wrong. Read every hit before accepting it.
- Replacements are shorter, not always equivalent. Check that the meaning survives the swap.
- The list is opinionated and reflects how we write. If your readers genuinely use a phrase as a term of art, keep it and ignore the flag.
- The bigger failure mode is not detected here at all. Nothing on this page catches a sentence that is grammatical, plain, entirely free of flagged phrases, and says nothing.
Questions about this tool
What actually counts as jargon?
A phrase that a reader outside your company has to translate before they can use it. That covers borrowed abstractions, wordy constructions with a one-word equivalent, and hedges that exist to avoid committing to a claim. Genuine terms of art are not jargon, because the audience already holds the definition.
Is every flagged phrase wrong?
No, and treating the list that way produces worse writing. Some of these phrases are precise in the right sentence, and a few are the only accurate word available. The list is a prompt to check, not a rule to obey. Read each hit in place before you change it.
What share of flagged words is acceptable?
We use one flagged word per hundred as an internal editing threshold, which is a working rule rather than a researched figure. Under that, the writing reads plainly. Above three percent the writing stops being a first draft with problems and starts being a draft that needs rewriting from the argument down.
Why does a replacement sometimes read worse?
Because the swap happens at the phrase level and meaning lives at the sentence level. Replacing a long construction with a short one often leaves a sentence built around a shape that no longer fits. When that happens, rewrite the sentence rather than patching the word.
This tool is free and there is nothing to sign up for. If you would rather have the work done than calculate it, that is what Zway does.