Find weak words and filler phrases ("very", "really", "just", "basically", "actually") to tighten your writing. Categorized by intensifier, hedge, discourse marker, and qualifier.
Built and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software
Use the filler-word detector on emails, marketing copy, presentation scripts, and any writing where every word should earn its keep. Especially common targets: tighten cover letters and executive summaries.
Filler detection is the modern complement to passive-voice and adverb detection — three views of the same weak-prose problem. Run all three to fully audit a draft.
Filler-word detection scans for overused intensifiers ("very", "really"), hedges ("kind of", "sort of"), discourse markers ("basically", "actually"), and qualifiers ("just", "simply").
Each match is categorized so you can target the worst category in your draft.
Multi-word fillers ("you know", "I mean") are matched as phrases. The rate metric is the percentage of total words flagged as filler.
Intensifiers ("very", "really"), hedges ("kind of"), discourse markers ("basically", "actually"), and redundant qualifiers ("just", "simply").
No — some carry meaning in context. The detector flags candidates; you decide. Aim for the worst offenders, not zero.
No. "I really want to go" emphasizes desire. "It really was the best" is genuine. Cut it when it's an empty intensifier ("really good" → "good" or "great").
Input
"This is actually a really simple problem that we can basically just fix in literally five minutes."
Output
5 fillers in 16 words (31%) — heavy filler.
"Actually", "really", "basically", "just", "literally" each add nothing. Removing them: "This is a simple problem we can fix in five minutes."
Filler is grouped into four kinds and each is worth a different response. Intensifiers ("very", "really", "extremely") usually weaken what they modify, because a word that needs propping up is the wrong word. Hedges ("somewhat", "fairly", "arguably") reduce commitment. Discourse markers ("basically", "actually", "of course") are spoken-language residue that rarely survives editing. Qualifiers narrow a claim, sometimes necessarily.
The split matters because a blanket "remove filler" instruction is wrong. Cutting every hedge from a research summary turns careful statements into overclaims, and cutting qualifiers can make a sentence say something you did not mean.
The tool tracks how filler distributes across sentences as well as how much there is in total. That distribution is more diagnostic than the total: filler spread thinly is a verbal tic, while filler clustered into a few sentences usually marks the places where the writer was least sure of the point.
Those clustered sentences are worth rewriting rather than trimming. The filler is a symptom of an unclear thought, and deleting the words leaves the thought just as unclear but now stated baldly.
% content words vs. function words.
Text analysisVocabulary variety — type‑token ratio.
Text analysisTotal + per‑word syllable counts.
Text analysisHighlight passive sentences in your writing.