2024 Words of the Year
Do you think these were the words that defined our year?
Saturdays are perfect days for retrospective surprises. Surprise—we’re talking about the 2024 Words of the Year today!
As another year draws to a close, lexicographers and language curators assume the altogether unserious responsibility to select the words that define the evanescent annum. Some draw heavily from data like search terms, news stories, or even public opinion. Others try to channel the vibe. Not everyone gets it right every year, and this one is no exception
What were the words of 2024?
Merriam-Webster got political with the word polarization:
polarization (noun) - the act or state of division into two groups with completely opposing views or beliefs… M-W probably wasn’t thinking of the scientific meanings of the word
BREAKDOWN: POL- (end of an axis) + -AR (pertaining to) + -IZE (to make or do) + -ATION (action)
With such an expansive lexicon, Merriam-Webster couldn’t stop at just one word. Most of them were, in the parlance of the early 2000s, mid. However, one inspired by the disastrous Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse was new to me.
allision (noun) - when a ship runs into another ship or a stationary object
BREAKDOWN: A- (towards) + LID- (to strike) + -ION (act or state)
M-W also favored Dictionary.com’s top choice, which we very mindfully covered earlier in the year:
demure (adj) - reserved, modest, and possibly shy or coy; decorous or prim
Cambridge Dictionary allowed an audience of positive thinkers to bring the word manifest–and its newest definition–into being as their word of the year:
manifest (verb) - to exhibit or reveal plainly or distinctly; to use clear intentions, visualization, affirmation, and other indirect actions to help achieve goals and attract wealth and success
BREAKDOWN: MAN- (hand) + FEST- (seize)
—manifest also means evident to the mind or senses; distinctly perceived
Collins Dictionary led with brat, which wasn’t my favorite word of the year, probably because I didn’t have a very brat summer. That said, Collins really leans into neologisms that may become standards in the English language. My money is on delulu:
delulu (adj) - maintaining false or unrealistic beliefs; deluded or delusional
BREAKDOWN: DE- (down) + LUD- (to play) + -ION (state) + -AL (pertaining to)
My least favorite selection for 2024 Word of the Year, a mistake made by multiple curators but most notably Oxford, was brainrot or brain rot. Surely we have more interesting terms for such a pervasive phenomenon, especially as this is hardly the first year critics have bemoaned an overall deterioration of public mental function.
Here’s hoping that 2025 is a year that elicits only the positive and creative Words of the Year!