LIKE, whatever.

For the second year in a row, Americans ranked "whatever" as the most annoying word or phrase used in conversation, a Marist Poll released today found.

Thirty-nine per cent of those polled were most irritated by the oft-used "whatever", while 28 per cent found the term "like" the most offensive.

The rhetorical "you know what I mean?" was ranked third by 15 per cent of those polled, followed by 10 per cent who were most annoyed by the phrase "to tell you the truth".

Last year, "whatever" was crowned most-hated word by 47 per cent of those polled.

Read more on annoying words at Marist Poll.

Originally published as 'Whatever' most annoying word in US