The reverberations from the results of this year's US presidential election have echoed through Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year selection. Whether the return of Donald Trump to the White House is seen as a cause for jubilation by some or as damning proof that no lessons are learned when people elect a convicted felon who propagates hatred, 'America's Most Trusted Dictionary' underscores this division with their 2024 choice: 'Polarization.'
'Polarization signifies division, but it's a very particular kind of division,' explained Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large, in an interview with AP. 'Polarization indicates that we are gravitating towards the extremes rather than the center.' The Merriam-Webster entry for 'polarization' encompasses both scientific and metaphorical definitions, with its most common usage meaning 'causing strong disagreement between opposing factions or groupings.'
Despite the Trump example, 'polarization' transcends political connotations. It is employed to highlight both fresh fissures and deep chasms in popular culture. Merriam-Webster, which records 100 million pageviews monthly on its website, selects its Word of the Year based on data, monitoring an increase in search and usage.
'It has always been crucial to me that the dictionary act as a neutral and objective arbiter of meaning for everyone,' Sokolowski added. 'It serves as a kind of safeguard for meaning in an era of fake news, alternative facts, and whatever else one might say about the value of a word's meaning in contemporary culture.'
The dictionary also revealed the other words that make up their Top 10 for 2024, including: 'Demure' (Dictionary.com's Word of the Year); 'Fortnight' (following Taylor Swift's hit song with Post Malone); 'Totality' (following this year's solar eclipse); 'Resonate' ('Texts developed by AI disproportionately use the word 'resonate,' Sokolowski noted); 'Allision' (which spiked when a ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last March); 'Weird' (in reference to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz labeling Republican leaders 'weird'); 'Cognitive' (spiking due to questions about President Joe Biden's debate performance versus Trump); 'Pander' (widely used in political commentary); and 'Democracy' (what is at stake when Trump comes into power).
Other notable Words of the Year this year include Collins Dictionary choosing 'Brat,' Cambridge Dictionary opting for 'Manifest,' and Oxford Dictionary selecting 'Brain rot' as their official 2024 pick.
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