The outcomes of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the nation and despatched shockwaves the world over — or have been trigger for celebration, relying on who you ask. Is it any shock then that the Merriam-Webster phrase of the yr is “polarization”?
“Polarization means division, but it’s a very specific kind of division,” stated Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at giant, in an unique interview with The Related Press forward of Monday’s announcement. “Polarization means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the center.”
The election was so divisive, many American voters went to the polls with a sense that the opposing candidate was an existential risk to the nation. In line with AP VoteCast, a survey of greater than 120,000 voters, about 8 in 10 Kamala Harris voters have been very or considerably involved that Donald Trump’s views — however not Harris’ — have been too excessive, whereas about 7 in 10 Trump voters felt the identical manner about Harris — however not Trump.
The Merriam-Webster entry for “polarization” displays scientific and metaphorical definitions. It’s mostly used to imply “causing strong disagreement between opposing factions or groupings.” Merriam-Webster, which logs 100 million pageviews a month on its web site, chooses its phrase of the yr primarily based on information, monitoring an increase in search and utilization.
Final yr’s choose was “authentic.” This yr’s comes as giant swaths of the U.S. wrestle to succeed in consensus on what’s actual.
It’s notable that “polarization” originated within the early 1800s — and never in the course of the Renaissance, as did most phrases with Latin roots about science, Sokolowski stated. He referred to as it a “pretty young word,” within the scheme of the English language. “Polarized is a term that brings intensity to another word,” he continued, most continuously used within the U.S. to explain race relations, politics and beliefs.
“The basic job of the dictionary is to tell the truth about words,” the Merriam-Webster editor continued. “We’ve had dictionaries of English for 420 years and it’s only been in the last 20 years or so that we’ve actually known which words people look up.”
“Polarization” extends past political connotations. It’s used to spotlight contemporary cracks and deep rifts alike in popular culture, tech developments and different industries.
All of the scrutiny over Taylor Swift’s personal jet utilization? Polarizing. Beef between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake? Polarizing. The Worldwide Olympic Committee’s resolution to strip American gymnast Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal after the Paris Video games? You guessed it: polarizing.
Even lighthearted memes — like these making enjoyable of Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn’s efficiency — or the proliferation of look-alike contests, or who counts as a nepo child proved polarizing.
“It’s used by both sides,” he stated, “and in a little bit ironic twist to the word, it’s something that actually everyone agrees on.”
Rounding out Merriam-Webster’s prime 10 phrases of 2024:
Demure
TikToker Jools Lebron’s 38-second video describing her workday make-up routine as “very demure, very mindful” lit up the summer season with memes. The video has been seen greater than 50 million occasions, yielding “huge spikes” in lookups, Sokolowski stated, and prompting many to be taught it means reserved or modest.
Fortnight
Taylor Swift’s music “Fortnight,” that includes rapper Publish Malone, undoubtedly spurred many searches for this phrase, which implies two weeks. “Music can still send people to the dictionary,” Sokolowski stated.
Totality
The photo voltaic eclipse in April impressed awe and far journey. There are tens of tens of millions of people that dwell alongside a slender stretch from Mexico’s Pacific coast to japanese Canada, in any other case often known as the trail of totality, the place locals and vacationers gazed skyward to see the moon absolutely blot out the solar. Typically, the phrase refers to a sum or mixture quantity — or wholeness.
Resonate
“Texts developed by AI have a disproportionate percentage of use of the word ‘resonate,’” Sokolowski stated. This can be as a result of the phrase, which implies to have an effect on or attraction to somebody in a private or emotional manner, can add gravitas to writing. However, paradoxically, synthetic intelligence “also betrays itself to be a robot because it’s using that word too much.”
Allision
The phrase was regarded up 60 occasions extra typically than traditional when, in March, a ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. “When you have one moving object into a fixed object, that’s an allision, not a collision. You’re showing that one of the two objects struck was not, in fact, in motion,” Sokolowski stated.
Bizarre
Cognitive
Whether or not the phrase was used to boost questions on President Joe Biden’s debate efficiency or Trump’s personal age, it cropped up typically. It refers to acutely aware mental exercise — akin to pondering, reasoning or remembering.
Pander
Democracy
In 2003, Merriam-Webster determined to make “democracy” its first phrase of the yr. Since then, the phrase — which, in fact, means a type of authorities through which the folks elect representatives to make selections, insurance policies and legal guidelines — is constantly one of many dictionary’s most regarded up. “There’s a poignancy to that, that people are checking up on it,” Sokolowski stated. “Maybe the most hopeful thing that the curiosity of the public shows, is that they’re paying attention.”