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Weasel Word & Vague Qualifier Detector

Text

Flag vague hedging phrases (many experts believe, studies show, it is widely known, some say) that assert authority without citing a checkable source

Weasel words like "studies show" or "many experts believe" lend a sentence the feel of evidence without naming anything a reader could actually go check. This scans pasted text against a curated phrase list and reports every match with its count and character offsets, plus an overall density per 100 words. It is a different smell from the Filler Word & Cliché Detector's hedge category, which flags personal uncertainty like "maybe" or "I think" rather than unattributed third-party authority. It is a heuristic pre-publish check, not a fact-checker, so a flagged phrase is a candidate to replace with a real citation or cut, not proof the claim is false.

writingeditingweasel-wordsvagueproofreading

How to use Weasel Word & Vague Qualifier Detector

  • 1.Paste the text you want to check, or load one of the built-in examples.
  • 2.Read the summary stats for total flagged phrases and density per 100 words.
  • 3.Review each matched phrase and either name a real source or rewrite the sentence without it.

Frequently asked questions

Does this check whether the underlying claim is true?
No. It only flags phrasing that implies evidence without naming a source. A claim can be both true and still worth citing properly, and a flagged phrase doesn't mean the claim is false.
How is this different from the Filler Word & Cliché Detector's hedge category?
That tool's hedges are personal uncertainty qualifiers like "maybe" or "I think". This tool targets a different smell: phrases that invoke unnamed third-party authority, like "studies show" or "many experts believe", with no checkable source behind them.
Is the phrase list configurable?
Not in this version. It uses a fixed curated list of common weasel-word phrases; it doesn't learn from your text or accept custom terms.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No, the scan runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is transmitted to a server or stored.

Use via API, SDK, or MCP

cURL# Free: 1,000 req/day · Pro: 10,000 req/day
curl -X POST https://api.utilix.tech/v1/tools/weasel-word-detector \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer utx_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text":"Studies show that many experts believe this works."}'

Get an API key from your dashboard · Full API docs →

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