Merriam-Webster’s Words of the Year 2019
Our
Word of the Year for 2019 is they. It reflects a
surprising fact: even a basic term—a personal pronoun—can rise to the top of
our data. Although our lookups are often driven by events in the news, the
dictionary is also a primary resource for information about language itself,
and the shifting use of they has been the subject of increasing study and
commentary in recent years. Lookups for they increased by 313% in 2019 over the
previous year.
English
famously lacks a gender-neutral singular pronoun to correspond neatly with
singular pronouns like everyone or someone, and as a consequence they has been
used for this purpose for over 600 years.
More
recently, though, they has also been used to refer to one person whose gender
identity is nonbinary, a sense that is increasingly common in published, edited
text, as well as social media and in daily personal interactions between
English speakers. There's no doubt that its use is established in the English
language, which is why it was added to the Merriam-Webster.com dictionary this
past September.
2
quid pro quo
(noun)
“Something given or received for something else,” or "A deal arranging a
quid pro quo.”
3 impeach
(verb)
“To charge with a crime or misdemeanor” and “To cast doubt on.”
4
crawdad
(noun)
Refers to the aquatic animal that looks like a small lobster and lives in
rivers and streams—i.e. to what's also known as a crawfish or crayfish.
5
egregious
(adjective)
Modern English: "Conspicuously bad;" Original meaning:
"Distinguished" or "Eminent."
6
the
(definite
article) Pronounced /ðə/ before words that begin with consonants ("the
governor") and /ði:/ before words that begin with a vowel; /ði:/ can also
indicate emphasis or suggest uniqueness (THE Ohio State University).
7
snitty
(adjective)
Disagreeably ill-tempered.
8
tergiversation
(noun)
“Evasion of straightforward action or clear-cut statement,” or “Desertion of a
cause, position, party, or faith.”
9
camp
(noun)
"A style or mode of personal or creative expression that is absurdly
exaggerated and often fuses elements of high and popular culture" or
"Something so outrageously artificial, affected, inappropriate, or
out-of-date as to be considered amusing."
10
exculpate
(verb)
To clear from alleged fault or guilt.
2019 Word of the Year is “(My) Pronouns,”
Word of the Decade is Singular “They”
In
its 30th annual words of the year vote, the American Dialect Society voted for
“(my) pronouns”
as its Word of the Year (2019) and singular “they” as its Word of the Decade (2010-2019).
“(My) pronouns” was recognized for its use as an introduction for sharing one’s
et of personal pronouns (as in “pronouns: she/her”), while singular “they” was
recognized for its growing use to refer to a known person whose gender identity
is nonbinary. Singular “they” was previously selected by the ADS as the 2015
Word of the Year.
WORD
OF THE YEAR (2019)
*
(my) pronouns: introduction for sharing one’s set of personal pronouns (“pronouns: she/her”)
161
ok
boomer: retort to someone older expressing out-of-touch or condescending views
88
cancel:
withdraw support from someone considered problematic or unacceptable 10
Karen:
stereotype of a complaining, self-important white woman, typically a member of Generation
X (also “Generation Karen”) 34
WORD
OF THE DECADE (2010-2019)
POLITICAL
WORD OF THE YEAR
MOST
USEFUL/MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED
SLANG/INFORMAL
WORD OF THE YEAR
MOST
CREATIVE
EUPHEMISM
OF THE YEAR
DIGITAL
WORD OF THE YEAR
The Collins Word Of The Year 2019 Is... CLIMATE STRIKE
Climate
strike has been announced as the Collins Word of the Year 2019.
climate
strike (ˈklaɪmɪt
ˌstraɪk)
noun: a form of protest in which people absent themselves
from education or work in order to join demonstrations demanding action to
counter climate change.
Discover
the rest of the words in this year’s shortlist.
bopo
(ˈbəʊpəʊ)
noun also spelt BoPo: a movement advocating the view that people should be
proud of the appearance of their bodies, or any aspect of this, especially size
cancel
(ˈkænsəl) verb: to publicly cease to
acknowledge a person, organization, etc, esp on social media, in order to
express disapproval of their activities or opinions
deepfake
(ˈdiːpˌfeɪk)
noun, verb: (noun) a technique by which a digital image or video can be
superimposed onto another, which maintains the appearance of an unedited image
or video; (verb) to superimpose one digital image or video onto another so that
it maintains the appearance of an unedited image or video
double
down (ˈdʌbəl daʊn)
phrasal verb: to reinforce one’s
commitment to a venture or idea in spite of opposition or risk
entryist
(ˈɛntrɪɪst)
noun, adjective: (noun) a person who joins an existing political party with the
intention of changing its principles and policies; (adjective) relating to the
practice of joining an existing political party with the intention of changing
its principles and policies
hopepunk
(ˈhəʊpˌpʌŋk)
noun: a literary and artistic movement that celebrates the pursuit of positive
aims in the face of adversity
influencer
(ˈɪnflʊənsə) noun: a person who uses social
media to promote lifestyle choices, commercial products, etc to his or her
followers
nonbinary
(ˌnɒnˈbaɪnərɪ)
adjective. Also spelt non-binary: relating to a gender or sexual identity that
does not conform to the binary categories of male or female, heterosexual or
homosexual
rewilding
(riːˈwaɪldɪŋ)
noun: the practice of returning areas of land to a wild state, including the
reintroduction of animal species that are no longer naturally found there
The Collins Word Of The Year 2019 Is... CLIMATE STRIKE
The
Oxford Word of the Year is a word or expression shown through usage evidence to
reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have
lasting potential as a term of cultural significance.
Climate
emergency is defined as ‘a situation in which urgent action is required to
reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental
damage resulting from it.’
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