Here Are The Words You Should And Shouldn't Use In Your Online Dating Profile

Writing your online dating profile is like crossing the cracks of doom on the way to Mordor. Should you let your real personality rip or keep it polite and sophisticated? Should you opt for cliche or risk freaking out the other person with your sense of humour?

Speaking of sense of GSOH, should you say that you're funny or make a joke that may or may not go down like a lead balloon?

In a study of 12,000 dating profiles, eHarmony managed to whittle down the words that register most positively with women and men and ones that don't.

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The study found that men who mentioned some form of physical fitness, or described themselves as perceptive, passionate or optimistic all saw more traffic to their profile.

Conversely, women describing themselves as sweet, ambitious or thoughtful were more likely to see men start up conversations with them.

Interestingly the word ‘funny’ was a winner with both sexes ranking it sixth out of the top ten list, showing there are some things men and women do agree on.

Physically fit or perceptive men attracted between 60-70% more interest from women who wanted to get to know them better; whereby sweet, ambitious or funny women saw between 20-45% more approaches.

The study also revealed that women are more interested in what men have to say for themselves, not just their looks. They are more likely to consider a man based on his description rather than his picture.

Jemima Wade, spokesperson for eHarmony.co.uk, said: “While the research shows certain words serve to grab fellow daters’ attention, we know that daters are looking for quality dates every time. And that takes more than just a few words; it’s about finding someone with the same values, who instantly gets you.”

Top 10 words men should use:

1. Physically fit (69%)

2. Ambitious (64%)

3. Perceptive (63%)

4. Passionate (54%)

5. Optimistic (44%)

6. Funny (38%)

7. Spontaneous (33%)

8. Thoughtful (21%)

9. Affectionate (17%)

10. Outgoing (+17%)

Top 10 words women should use:

1.Sweet (46%)

2. Ambitious (39%)

3. Thoughtful (30%)

4. Spontaneous (30%)

5. Physically fit (22%)

6. Funny (21%)

7. Outgoing (19%)

8. Optimistic (17%)

9. Hard-working (17%)

10. Passionate (16%)