By Associated Press’s Anna Furman
Depending on who you ask, the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election either caused a stir in the nation and sent shockwaves around the world, or they were reason to celebrate. So, is it surprising that polarization is this year’s Merriam-Webster word of the year?
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press before to Monday’s announcement, Peter Sokolowski, editor at large at Merriam-Webster, stated that polarization “means division, but it’s a very specific kind of division”. When we are polarized, we are moving more toward the extremes than the middle.
Because of how polarizing the election was, many Americans believed that the other candidate posed an existential threat to the country when they cast their ballots.About 8 out of 10 Kamala Harris supporters were extremely or somewhat concerned that Donald Trump’s beliefs, but not Harris’, were too radical, while roughly 7 out of 10 Trump supporters felt the same way about Harris but not Trump, according to AP VoteCast, a poll of over 120,000 people.
Polarization is defined both scientifically and metaphorically in the Merriam-Webster entry. It most frequently refers to fostering intense conflict between rival groups or factions. Using data that tracks an increase in search and usage, Merriam-Webster, which receives 100 million visitors each month on its website, selects its word of the year.
Spick was genuine last year.This year, a lot of people in the United States are having trouble agreeing on what is true.
According to Sokolowski, it has always been crucial to him that the dictionary act as a type of impartial arbiter of meaning for everyone. In a time of alternative facts, fake news, and other information regarding the importance of a word’s cultural meaning, it serves as a sort of safety net for meaning.
According to Sokolowski, it’s noteworthy that polarization, like the majority of words with Latin roots related to science, came into being in the early 1800s rather than the Renaissance. He described it as a relatively new word in the English language. He went on to say that the word “polarized” intensifies another phrase, which is most commonly used in the United States to refer to politics, philosophy, and racial relations.
The Merriam-Webster editor went on to say that the dictionary’s primary function is to accurately describe words. English dictionaries have existed for 420 years, but we have just really been able to determine which words people look up in the last 20 years or so.
Polarization is more than just a political term. It is employed to draw attention to both new and profound fissures in pop culture, technology, and other fields.
Taylor Swift’s use of a private jet has drawn a lot of attention. divisive. Rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar are at odds. divisive. Why did the International Olympic Committee deny American gymnast Jordan Chiles her bronze medal during the Games in Paris? Yes, it is polarizing.
Even humorous memes that ridiculed Australian breakdancer Rachael Raygun Gunn’s performance, the popularity of look-alike competitions, or the definition of a nepo baby caused controversy.
Ironically, however, individuals generally agree on the name itself. People from a wide range of political backgrounds, including commentators on Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN, frequently use it, according to Sokolowski.
He claimed that both sides use it, and in a somewhat amusing twist on the term, everyone actually agrees on it.
Completing Merriam-Webster’s list of the top ten words for 2024:
Demure
Memes flooded the summer with TikToker Jools Lebron’s 38-second video, which described her weekday cosmetics routine as “very demure, very mindful.” According to Sokolowski, the movie has been viewed over 50 million times, resulting in significant increases in search volume and teaching many people that it denotes modesty or restraint.
This phrase, which means two weeks, was definitely searched for a lot after Taylor Swift’s song “Fortnight,” which featured rapper Post Malone. According to Sokolowski, music can still make individuals consult a dictionary.
Totality
Awe and a lot of travel were sparked by the April solar eclipse. Tens of millions of people reside along the “path of totality,” a slender route that runs from the Pacific coast of Mexico to eastern Canada. Both locals and tourists look up at the sky to witness the moon completely blotting out the sun. The term typically denotes a total, aggregate amount, or wholeness.
Resonate
According to Sokolowski, the phrase “resonate” is used disproportionately in texts created by artificial intelligence. This could be because the word, which means to emotionally or personally influence or appeal to someone, can give writing a more solemn feel. Ironically, though, artificial intelligence also exposes itself as a robot by overusing that term.
Allision
When a ship struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, the word was searched 60 times more frequently than usual. An allision, not a collision, occurs when one moving object collides with a stationary object. “You’re demonstrating that one of the two struck objects wasn’t actually moving,” Sokolowski replied.
Weird
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz described Republican leaders as strange on the television news program Morning Joe this summer.It might have been the catalyst for his national career and his selection as the Democratic contender for vice president. Even though it’s a commonly misspelled word, is it ei or ie? and search for that reason, its usage increased significantly, according to Sokolowski.
Cognitive
The term frequently surfaced, whether it was used to cast doubt on Trump’s age or President Joe Biden’s debate performance. It alludes to deliberate mental processes including remembering, thinking, and reasoning.
Pander
According to Sokolowski, Pander was frequently employed in political commentary. Kamala Harris was accused by conservative news sites of catering to a variety of demographics, particularly young voters, Black voters, and proponents of gun rights. Walz, on the other hand, claimed that Trump’s tour of a McDonald’s kitchen catered to hourly workers. It is saying, doing, or giving something that someone, like an audience, wants or demands, even if it isn’t right, good, rational, etc.
Democracy
Democracy was chosen by Merriam-Webster as the year’s first word in 2003. Since then, the word—which, of course, refers to a system of government where citizens choose representatives to establish laws, regulations, and decisions—has continuously been among the most searched terms in dictionaries. “That people are checking up on it has a poignancy,” Sokolowski remarked. The fact that people are paying attention is perhaps the most encouraging sign of popular curiosity.
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Reporting was provided by Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, polling editor for the Associated Press.
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