paigereiring:

There are words that you should never – or almost never – use in writing. Disengaging sense verbs, vague modifiers, passive voice — they need to go. Don’t worry about these words as you’re writing the first draft, but when it’s time for revision, break out the red pen. It’s time to destroy your manuscript.

• Adverbs: lightly, pleasantly, quietly, dumbly. There’s a better verb.
  • “She walked slowly towards him.” Change to: “She sauntered towards him.”
• Redundancies: needless to say, screamed loudly, end result
• Suddenly
• Vague words: very, really, great, thing
• Sense verbs: saw, felt, smelled, heard, tasted. Unless someone is telling a story to another character, avoid these words. It’s much more effective and engaging to describe it in more objective terms.
  • “She smelled blood, the stench thick in the air.” Change to: “The stench of blood hung thick in the air.”

You get the idea? Vague is lazy. Many words are weak. Cut it, tighten your writing, and make it better.