Intensifier is a linguistic term (but not a proper lexical category) for a modifier that amplifies the meaning of the word it modifies. Examples are "very," "quite," "extremely," "highly," and "greatly." An intensifier is the opposite of a qualifier, a modifier that weakens the word modified: "fairly," "somewhat," "rather," "a little," or "barely." An intensifier makes no contribution to the propositional meaning of a clause but serves to enhance and sometimes to give additional emotional context to the word it modifies. Intensifiers are grammatical expletives, specifically expletive attributives (or, equivalently, attributive expletives or attributive-only expletives, they also qualify as expressive attributives), because they function as semantically vacuous filler. Characteristically, English draws intensifiers from a class of words called degree modifiers, words that quantify the idea they modify. More specifically, they derive from a group of words called adverbs of degree, also known as degree adverbs. However, when used grammatically as intensifiers, these words cease to be degree adverbs, because they no longer quantify the idea they modify. Instead, they emphasize it emotionally. By contrast, the words moderately, slightly, and barely are degree adverbs, but not intensifiers. The other hallmark of prototypical intensifiers is that they are adverbs which lack the primary characteristic of adverbs: the ability to modify verbs. Intensifiers modify exclusively adjectives and adverbs. However, this rule is insufficient to classify intensifiers, since there exist other words commonly classified as adverbs that never modify verbs but are not intensifiers, e.g. questionably.
For these reasons, Huddleston argues that intensifier not be recognized as a primary grammatical or lexical category.[1] Intensifier is a category with grammatical properties, but insufficiently defined unless we also describe its functional significance (what Huddleston calls a notional definition[2]).
Technically, intensifiers roughly qualify a point on the affective semantic property, which is gradable. Syntactically, intensifiers pre-modify either adjectives or adverbs. Semantically, they increase the emotional content of an expression. The basic intensifier is 'very'. A versatile word, English permits 'very' to modify many adjectives and adverbs (but no verb!). Other intensifiers often express the same intention as 'very'.
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Strunk and White have this to say about the most common intensifier, "very": "Use this word sparingly. When emphasis is necessary, use words strong in themselves."[3]
Bernstein has a similar opinion: "As a matter of style in writing, the word very is a good one to avoid most of the time. The word it modifies usually is stronger standing alone."[4]
Use of an intensifier subtly suggests to the reader what emotion he should feel. By naming an emotion within the predicate, the writer compels the reader to consider this emotion and hence he begins to feel it.
In general, overuse of intensifiers negatively affects the persuasiveness or credibility of a legal argument.[5] But if a judge's authoritative written opinion uses a high rate of intensifiers, a lawyer's written appeal of that opinion that also uses a high rate of intensifiers is associated with an increase in favorable outcomes for such appeals. Also, when judges disagree with each other in writing, they tend to use more intensifiers.
A 2010 Stanford Graduate School of Business study[6] found that, in quarterly earnings conference calls, deceptive CEOs use a greater percent quantity of “extreme positive emotions words” than CEOs telling the truth.[7][8] This finding agrees with the presumption that a CEO attempting to hide poor performance exerts herself more forcefully to persuade her listeners. Larcker and Zakolyukinaz give a list of 115 extreme positive emotions words, including intensifiers: awful, deucedly, emphatically, excellently, fabulously, fantastically, genuinely, gloriously, immensely, incredibly, insanely, keenly, madly, magnificently, marvelously, splendidly, supremely, terrifically, truly, unquestionably, wonderfully, very [good].
The narrator. It is easy to tell whether a narrator is narrating because the subject matter interests him or because he wants to evoke interest through his narrative. If the latter is the case, he will exaggerate, use superlatives, etc. Then he usually narrates the worse, because he is not thinking so much about the story as about himself.[9][10]