A vogue word is a fashionable word or phrase that tends to lose its effectiveness through overuse. Also called a voguism.
Vogue words, says Kenneth G. Wilson, are "perfectly good Standard English words that suddenly become modish, so that for a time we hear them being used everywhere, by everyone, until we are utterly sick of them" (The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, 1993).
Examples and Observations
"[Some] vogue words are technical words clumsily applied to other fields. These include parameter, bottom line, interface, mode, and space; phrases like immediate feedback and close the loop; and, in a sense, ballpark figure, and touch base with you." (Matt Young, The Technical Writer's Handbook: Writing With Style and Clarity. University Science Books, 2002)
Iconic "Mr. Leopold is not turning 95 years old, but his iconic ice cream business is. . . . "Now owned by Peter's youngest son, Stratton, and his wife Mary, the iconic sweets shop on Broughton Street still serves its premium recipes in a fun, retro-style soda shop. . . . "She says they plan to offer plenty of room for guests to find a seat while hot dogs will be for sale and the iconic Leopold's portable carts will be on hand outside the store." ("B'Day Bash: Leopold's Celebrates 95 Years." Savannah Morning News, August 14, 2014)
Artisan "There are, I think, two ways one could read the fact that McDonald's is using the word artisan to market its chicken. On the one hand, it could be a self-aware joke meant to finally deal a death blow to one of the most grating words in the pop lexicon. The king of mass-produced fast food has officially appropriated a phrase that once denoted something expensive and handmade, thus rendering it fully devoid of meaning. In which case: McDonald's 1, upper-middle-class foodies 0.
Favorite and Least Favorite Words: Awe and Awesome! - "'Awe,' a word we are about to lose, that has been robbed of its meaning by the unfortunate adjective 'awesome.' "Awe' meaning ecstatic, reverential feeling before Beauty, before the Magnificent. 'Awesome,' a tiresome word, flung indiscriminately in all directions, on all occasions until it has become so trivial, it is valueless. "'Awe,' to be used on rare occasions before the marvelous, the extraordinary. It conveys wonder and amazement. Even the sound conveys a feeling. Saying the word, the mouth opens in speechless delight before that which is greater than the self."
Viable "Viable means workable and likely to survive. It has become a 'vogue word' and is commonly used in the sense of workable or achievable. Adjectives such as durable, lasting, effective, and practical are more appropriate."
Image "A great darling among the loosely used pseudoscientific vogue words of recent years is an image in the sense 'impression that others subconsciously have of someone.' A jaundiced observer of modern life might well suppose that what we actually are is not nearly so important as the image we are able--to use another vogue word--to project."
Feedback "Feedback. In its rigorous scientific sense, feedback is the return to an input part of its output, so as to provide self-corrective action. Feedback is a vogue word in a loose sense for which response would be a perfectly adequate alternative, as in 'we got a lot of valuable feedback on our advertising campaign.'"
How to Resist Vogue Words "The best way to offset the harm of vogues is to stick resolutely, in speech and writing, to each vogue word's central meaning. Address an audience or a postcard, but not a problem or a question. Call a substance or a temperament volatile, but not an issue or a situation. Express sympathy far and wide, but keep empathy for aesthetics or psychiatry. Remember Tiny Tim and avoid naming things minuscule or minimal."
(Nordquist, Richard. "What Is a Vogue Word? Definition and Examples." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/vogue-word-1692599).