Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is one that the dictionary suggests unifies both sides of the aisle.
The dictionary publisher said Monday that “polarization” is its 2024 word of the year, defining it as “division into two sharply distinct opposites; especially, a state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society no longer range along a continuum but become concentrated at opposing extremes.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a heated election, which culminated with President-elect Donald Trump's win.
“Search volume on Merriam-Webster.com throughout the year reflected the desire of Americans to better understand the complex state of affairs in our country and around the world,” the dictionary said.
The word was frequently used by the media this year, Merriam-Webster noted, and was repeated on networks like MSNBC and Fox News — particularly when describing politics and the presidential election. (Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is the parent company of NBC News and MSNBC.)
Several other terms associated with politics — including “democracy” — also made the dictionary’s words of the year list.
“Democracy” garnered bipartisan attention across blue and red states, with people looking the word up to try and “fully understand what it means—and to challenge, celebrate, and protect it,” according to Merriam-Webster.
“The word democracy never appears in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, but it has long been a focus of American and global attention, rarely more so than now,” the dictionary noted in its explanation.
Search interest in the word “pander” grew in mid-October, according to Merriam-Webster, when several “conservative news outlets accused Vice President Kamala Harris of pandering to different groups, including young voters, Black voters, and supporters of gun rights.” The dictionary also cited Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s appearance on “The View,” during which he said Trump’s visit to McDonald’s "showed that he would 'pander and disrespect'" its workers.
The word “weird,” which the dictionary defines as “strange or extraordinary character,” also picked up traction in July after Walz, who was Harris’ running mate, “referred to ‘weird people on the other side,’” according to Merriam-Webster.
“Cognitive,” defined as “of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity,” is not necessarily associated with politics. But this year, Merriam-Webster said the word saw a “rise in lookups” due to “multiple reasons relating to the U.S. election,” including the health of both President Joe Biden and Trump.
Aside from politically relevant words, some internet culture terminology also made the list. “Demure,” or “people who avoid drawing attention to themselves,” surged in use, according to Merriam-Webster, after TikToker Jools Lebron kicked off a meme that dominated the internet.
People also searched words related to current events, including “totality,” or "the phase of an eclipse during which it is total," after April’s solar eclipse; and “allision,” a term that refers to a marine vessel colliding with a stationary object, which many looked up after the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed in March.
Merriam-Webster’s list follows several other similar roundups. Last week, Oxford University Press announced its word of the year was “brain rot,” referring to the hyper-online way of speaking popularized by young Gen Zers and Gen Alpha. Meanwhile, Collins Dictionary named “Brat” word of the year, after the Charli XCX album became part of the cultural zeitgeist over the summer.
