Collins Dictionary's 10 words of the year, from 'Brexit' and 'snowflake generation' to 'JOMO'
Collins states that the increase in the usage of Brexit is "unheard of" since monitoring began
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.'Brexit' has been named the word of the year by Collins Dictionary having been deemed "politics' most important contribution to the language for 40 years."
According to Collins, the first recorded usage of the word arrived in 2013 but this year saw a 3,400% rise due to the EU referendum in June and the ensuing fallout.
Collins' head of language Helen Newstead likened the term's importance to the way in which the Watergate scandal saw the word -gate added as a suffix "to make any incident infinitely more compelling."
Following up Brexit's rear was 'Trumpism' which has been derived from the name of US presidential nominee Donald Trump.
The third entrant in Collins' list is 'hygge,' a Danish concept of creating cosy and convivial atmospheres that promote wellbeing.
Other words to feature include 'mic drop' - a theatrical gesture in which a person drops a hand-held microphone as the finale to a speech - 'snowflake generation' - the collective name for the young adults of the 2010s' - and 'JOMO' which is the joy of missing out
Collins' ten words of the year can be found below with their full definitions:
dude food (ˈduːd ˌfuːd) noun: junk food such as hot dogs, burgers, etc considered particularly appealing to men
hygge (ˈhyɡə) noun: a concept, originating in Denmark, of creating cosy and convivial atmospheres that promote wellbeing
JOMO (ˈdʒəʊməʊ) noun acronym: joy of missing out: pleasure gained from enjoying one’s current activities without worrying that other people are having more fun
mic drop (ˈmaɪk ˌdrɒp) noun: a theatrical gesture in which a person drops (or imitates the action of dropping) a hand-held microphone to the ground as the finale to a speech or performance
sharenting (ˈʃɛərəntɪŋ) noun: the habitual use of social media to share news, images, etc of one’s children
snowflake generation (ˈsnəʊfleɪk dʒɛnəˌreɪʃən) noun: the young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations
throw shade (ˌθrəʊ ˈʃeɪd) verb: to make a public show of contempt for someone or something, often in a subtle or non-verbal manner
Trumpism (ˈtrʌmpɪzəm) noun: (1) the policies advocated by the US politician Donald Trump, especially those involving a rejection of the current political establishment and the vigorous pursuit of US national interests (2) a controversial or outrageous statement attributed to Donald Trump
uberization (ˌuːbəraɪˈzeɪʃən) noun: the adoption of a business model in which services are offered on demand through direct contact between a customer and supplier, usually via mobile technology
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments