A Linguistic Pet Peeve

I know "appreciative" is a perfectly acceptable word. I know it's in the dictionary and such.

I hate it with a passion. And I don't know why. It's just one of those irrational hates we all have.

I never use the word. And it's painful to my ears. I'd rather say things like, "I'm grateful," than to have that multisyllabic abomination come out of my mouth. If ever a word were the poster child for Mark Twain's admonition: "If you see an adjective, kill it," appreciative would be the word.