In November, Dictionary.com named ‘complicit’ as its 2017 Word of the Year.
It was Merriam-Webster’s turn to unveil its 2017 Word of the Year on Monday and complicit came in second on the list behind ‘feminism.’
2017 saw both a sustained rise in 'feminism' lookups and a number of event-driven spikes.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 12, 2017
'Feminism' is our #WordOfTheYear. https://t.co/CrEhuZe7HB
The word is defined as “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes,” as well as “organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.”
Lookups of the word spiked early in the year after international news coverage of the Women’s March of Washington, D.C. and other related marches in January.
The word spiked once again in February when Kellyanne Conway said that she didn’t consider herself a feminist.
It wasn’t only news that drove searches of the word, as Merriam-Webster reports increased lookups after the release of The Handmaid’s Tale and Wonder Woman.
More recently, however, the lookups have been driven by the ongoing accounts and reports of sexual assault and harassment in the news.
Behind feminism and complicit, the top 10 words of 2017 included rescue, empathy, dotard, syzygy, gyro, federalism, hurricane and gaffe.
You can learn more about all 10 words on the Merriam-Webster website and also go behind the scenes with editor-at-large Peter Sokolowski on how these words were chosen.
