Word of the year by the oxford english dictionary

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December 5, 2022 / 9:43 AM
/ CBS News

Oxford Dictionary’s 2022 word of the year

As 2022 nears its end, dictionaries are chiming in on the word that best that encompasses the year. And according to Oxford Dictionaries, «goblin mode» is the 2022 word of the year. The company annually chooses a word of the year, but this time, it let the public cast votes to choose among three finalists. Over two weeks, more than 300,000 people weighed in, and on Monday, the dictionary announced goblin mode was the winner. 

It defines «goblin mode» as a slang term for «a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.»

Oxford Dictionaries says its annual word of the year reflects the mood of the past 12 months and that it also seeks to choose something with the potential for lasting cultural significance. Past Oxford words of the year include «vax» in 2021, «climate emergency» in 2019, and «selfie» in 2013. 

«Goblin mode» got its start on Twitter in 2009, but the term went viral in February 2022. The expression’s rise in in popularity coincided with the easing of COVID restrictions, as more people started venturing out of their homes. Some rejected or struggled with the return to normalcy and continued live in their lives unapologetically in goblin mode.

«Goblin Mode really does speak to the times and the zeitgeist, and it is certainly a 2022 expression. People are looking at social norms in new ways. It gives people the license to ditch social norms and embrace new ones,» American linguist and lexicographer Ben Zimmer said at an event for Oxford Dictionaries. 

While it is a casual term often seen on social media, it has made its way into major news publications too, like when The Times of London published an opinion piece in which the author said too many people had embraced goblin mode «in response to a difficult year.»

The second place winner in Oxford’s word of the year vote was «metaverse,» describing «a (hypothetical) virtual reality environment in which users interact with one another’s avatars and their surroundings in an immersive way, sometimes posited as a potential extension of or replacement for the internet, World Wide Web, social media, etc.» according to the dictionary. Though the word metaverse has been around since the early 1990s, it really took off in the past year as Facebook attempted to rebrand itself as a metaverse company.

In third place: «#IStandWith,» a hashtag used to «express solidarity with a specific cause, group, or person,» the dictionary says. 

Oxford is just one of several major dictionary companies vying to define the word of the year. Last month, Merriam-Webster selected «gaslighting» as its 2022 word of the year, and Collins English Dictionary went with «permacrisis.»

Caitlin O’Kane

Caitlin O’Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.

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“Goblin mode” has been chosen by the public as the 2022 Oxford word of the year. The term, which refers to “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations”, has become the first word of the year to have been decided by public vote.

Given a choice of three words (or phrases/hashtags – “word” is defined fairly loosely), narrowed down by lexicographers from Oxford University Press (OUP), more than 340,000 English speakers around the world cast their vote.

“Metaverse” was the second choice, followed by “#IStandWith”. Goblin mode was a landslide victory: it was selected by 318,956 people, making up 93%of the overall vote.

The president of Oxford Languages, Casper Grathwohl, said that while he and his colleagues were “hoping the public would enjoy being brought into the process”, the level of engagement had caught them “totally by surprise”.

“Given the year we’ve just experienced, ‘goblin mode’ resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point”, he added. “It’s a relief to acknowledge that we’re not always the idealised, curated selves that we’re encouraged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds. This has been demonstrated by the dramatic rise of platforms like BeReal where users share images of their unedited selves, often capturing self-indulgent moments in goblin mode.”

The winning term was first seen on Twitter in 2009, but went viral on social media in February 2022 after being tweeted in a mocked-up headline.

Goblin mode “embraces the comforts of depravity”, wrote the Guardian technology reporter Kari Paul in March, who attributed the rise in the phrase’s usage to “the pandemic’s third year and the feared launch of World War Three”.

The hashtag #goblinmode on TikTok is often used as a rebuff of the “that girl” trend, which is all about being the “best version of yourself”, ie getting up early to exercise, performing elaborate skincare routines and drinking organic green smoothies – and, of course, posting about all of this on social media.

The OUP noted that the usage of goblin mode rose in the first half of 2022, when Covid restrictions were being eased in many countries. “Seemingly, it captured the prevailing mood of individuals who rejected the idea of returning to ‘normal life’, or rebelled against the increasingly unattainable aesthetic standards and unsustainable lifestyles exhibited on social media.”

The American linguist and lexicographer Ben Zimmer said: “Goblin mode really does speak to the times and the zeitgeist, and it is certainly a 2022 expression. People are looking at social norms in new ways. It gives people the licence to ditch social norms and embrace new ones.”

Goblin mode joins previous Oxford words of the year “vax” (2021), “climate emergency” (2019), and “selfie” (2013). Other dictionaries have also selected 2022 words of the year: Collins chose “permacrisis”, while Cambridge Dictionaries went for “homer,” which went viral in May thanks to the game Wordle.

Calling 2020 «unique» feels like an understatement. Many things have changed this year, from the way we work to the way we function in society, and the Oxford English Dictionary «Word of the Year» is no different. Since 2020 has been hard to put into words, Oxford Languages had to adjust how they normally do things in response to a year full of surprises they couldn’t describe succinctly. Rather than having just one word represent 2020, Oxford moved to a full list of «Words of an Unprecedented Year.» Keep reading for all of the Oxford Words of the Year, and for words we should leave behind in 2020, check out these 5 Words to Ditch From Your Vocabulary ASAP.

Generally speaking, the (usually singular) Word of the Year is chosen to reflect the year it signifies. «The Oxford Word of the Year is a word or expression that is judged to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance,» Oxford Languages explains. In 2018, the Word of the Year was «toxic,» and in 2019, it was «climate emergency.»

When faced with the challenge of selecting a word to reflect this tumultuous year, Oxford Languages couldn’t pick just one. The 2020 Words of an Unprecedented Year report says, «The English language, like all of us, has had to adapt rapidly and repeatedly this year. Given the phenomenal breadth of language change and development during 2020, Oxford Languages concluded that this is a year which cannot be neatly accommodated in one single word.»

Instead, Oxford Languages assigned Words of the Year to the months in which they reached their peak frequency of usage. Here are Oxford’s 2020 Words of an Unprecedented Year, and to see what words you should ditch, here are 4 Words the Dictionary Says You Should Stop Using.

At the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, the Australian bushfire season rolled in and became the worst in documented history. The bushfires across the country were fueled by record-breaking temperatures and lengthy bouts of severe drought. And for the etymology of other common words, discover The Amazing Origins of Everyday Slang Terms You Use Constantly.

Impeachment became a hot topic in January when President Donald Trump faced an impeachment trial.

In February, following Trump’s acquittal—allowing him to remain in office, despite being impeached—this word became popular. And for more useful information delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

By the end of March, «coronavirus» became «one of the most frequently used nouns in the English language, after being used to designate the SARS-CoV-2 virus,» according to the report.

While the word «coronavirus» already existed before the pandemic, «COVID-19» was a completely new word that reached the height of its popularity in April. According to the report, the term was first used by the World Health Organization as an abbreviation of «coronavirus disease 2019.» The term quickly became the more common designation.

In April, «lockdown» was the word on everyone’s lips as much of the world entered into government-enforced quarantine to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. And for cheerier words, check out The Most Beautiful Words in the English Language—And How to Use Them.

Governments across the globe introduced citizens to social distancing, the act of keeping six feet of distance between people to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As governments began to lift lockdown measures, the term «social distancing» spiked in popularity toward the end of April.

«Towards the Northern Hemisphere summer more hopeful words increased in frequency, including reopening,» says the report. The word «reopening» spiked in popularity in mid-May when used to refer to businesses, schools, restaurants, offices, and more that were able to open again.

The phrase «Black Lives Matter» originated in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. However, the phrase «exploded in usage beginning in June of this year, remaining at elevated levels for the rest of the year as protests against law enforcement agencies over the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black Americans took root in communities across the United States and across the world,» according to the report. And if you are committed to anti-racism, ditch these 7 Common Phrases That You Didn’t Know Have Racist Origins.

A societal shift followed the resurgence of momentum behind the Black Lives Matter movement. People in positions of power began to get called out for their actions, which led to repercussions that some dubbed «cancel culture.» According to the report, cancel culture—which saw a surge in usage in July—is «the culture of boycotting and withdrawing support from public figures whose words and actions are considered socially unacceptable.» And for words you need to stop using, find out The One Word Older People Should Never Say.

BIPOC surged in usage in tandem with Black Lives Matter—the abbreviation stands for «Black, indigenous, and other people of color.»

The 2020 election is now over, but Americans were discussing the issue of voting in a presidential election amid a pandemic back in August. The report found that the term «mail-in» saw a 3,000 percent increase in use as compared to last year.

In August, the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus caused an uprising in the country. The adjective «Belarusian» skyrocketed in usage as a result.

As the UK government rolled out Moonshot, their plan for mass COVID testing, in September, the term rose to significance.

According to the report, the word «superspreader» dates back to the 1970s but gained popularity in 2020. «There was a particular spike in usage in October, mainly with reference to the well-publicized spread of cases in the White House,» says the report.

The report says the term net zero has been «on the rise as the year draws to an end: the recent increase partly relates to the historic pledge made by President Xi Jinping in September, that China will be carbon neutral by 2060.»

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word(s) of the year, sometimes capitalized as «Word(s) of the Year» and abbreviated «WOTY» (or «WotY«), refers to any of various assessments as to the most important word(s) or expression(s) in the public sphere during a specific year.

The German tradition, Wort des Jahres was started in 1971. The American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year is the oldest English-language version, and the only one that is announced after the end of the calendar year, determined by a vote of independent linguists, and not tied to commercial interest.^{[citation needed]} However, various other organizations also announce Words of the Year for a variety of purposes.

American Dialect Society[edit]

Since 1990, the American Dialect Society (ADS) has designated one or more words or terms to be the «Word of the Year» in the United States.
List of American Dialect Society’s Words of the Year
In addition to the «Word of the Year», the society also selects words in other categories that vary from year to year. These categories have occurred in several years:

• Most useful
• Most creative
• Most unnecessary
• Most outrageous
• Most euphemistic
• Most likely to succeed
• Least likely to succeed

Australian National Dictionary Centre[edit]

The Australian National Dictionary Centre has announced a Word of the Year each since 2006. The word is chosen by the editorial staff, and is selected on the basis of having come to some prominence in the Australian social and cultural landscape during the year.^[1] The Word of the Year is often reported in the media as being Australia’s word of the year,^[2][3] but the word is not always an Australian word.

Year	Word
2006	podcast
2007	me-tooism
2008	GFC
2009	twitter
2010	vuvuzela
2011
2012	green-on-blue
2013	bitcoin
2014	shirtfront
2015	sharing economy
2016	democracy sausage
2017	Kwaussie
2018	Canberra bubble
2019	Voice
2020	iso
2021	strollout
2022	teal

Cambridge Dictionary[edit]

The Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year, by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, has been published every year since 2015.^[4] 

The Cambridge Word of the Year is led by the data — what users look up — in the world’s most popular dictionary for English language learners^[5]. 

In 2022, the Cambridge Word of the Year was ‘homer’, caused by Wordle players looking up five-letter words, especially those that non-American players were less familiar with.^[6] 

In 2021, the Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year was ‘perseverance’.^[7] In 2020, ‘quarantine’.^[8]

YEAR
2015	austerity
2016	paranoid
2017	populism
2018	nomophobia
2019	upcycling
2020	quarantine
2021	perserverance
2022	homer

Collins English Dictionary[edit]

The Collins English Dictionary has announced a Word of the Year every year since 2013, and prior to this, announced a new ‘word of the month’ each month in 2012. Published in Glasgow, UK, Collins English Dictionary has been publishing English dictionaries since 1819.^[9]

Toward the end of each calendar year, Collins release a shortlist of notable words or those that have come to prominence in the previous 12 months. The shortlist typically comprises ten words, though in 2014 only four words were announced as the Word of the Year shortlist.

The Collins Words of the Year are selected by the Collins Dictionary team across Glasgow and London, consisting of lexicographers, editorial, marketing, and publicity staff, though previously the selection process has been open to the public.

Whilst the word is not required to be new to feature, the appearance of words in the list is often supported by usage statistics and cross-reference against Collins’ extensive corpus to understand how language may have changed or developed in the previous year. The Collins Word of the Year is also not restricted to UK language usage, and words are often chosen that apply internationally as well, for example, fake news in 2017.^[10]

Year	Word of the Year	Definition	Shortlist
2013	Geek[11]	If you call someone, usually a man or boy, a geek, you are saying in an unkind way that they are stupid, awkward, or weak.[12]	Twerking[13] Bitcoin[14] Phablet[15] Plebgate[16] Fracker[17] Cybernat[18] Thigh gap[19] Olinguito[20] Black Friday[21] Payday lending[22] Harlem Shake[23]
2014	Photobomb[24]	If you photobomb someone, you spoil a photograph of them by stepping in front of them as the photograph is taken, often doing something silly such as making a funny face.[25]	Tinder[26] Bakeoff[27] Normcore[28] Devo Max[29]
2015	Binge-watch[30]	If you binge-watch a television series, you watch several episodes one after another in a short time.[31]	Dadbod[32] Shaming[32] Corbynomics[32] Clean eating[32] Ghosting[32] Swipe[32] Contactless[32] Manspreading[32] Transgender[32]
2016	Brexit[33]	The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in January 2020.[34]	Hygge[35] Mic drop[36] Trumpism[37] Throw shade[38] Sharenting[39] Snowflake generation[40] Dude food[41] Uberization[42] JOMO[43]
2017	Fake news[44]	False, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting.[45]	Antifa[46] Corbynmania[47] Cuffing season[48] Echo chamber[49] Fidget spinner[50] Gender-fluid[51] Gig economy[52] Insta[53] Unicorn[54]
2018	Single-use[55]	Made to be used once only.[56]	Backstop[55][57] Floss[55][57] Gammon[55][57] Gaslight[55][57] MeToo[55][57] Plogging[55][57] VAR[55][57] Vegan[55][57] Whitewash[55][57]
2019	Climate strike[58]	A form of protest in which people absent themselves from education or work to join demonstrations demanding action to counter climate change.[59]	Bopo[60] Cancel Deepfake Double down Entryist Hopepunk Influencer Nonbinary Rewilding
2020	Lockdown[58]	If there is a lockdown, people must stay at home unless they need to go out for certain reasons, such as going to work, buying food or taking exercise.	Lockdown[61] Coronavirus[62] BLM[63] Key worker[64] Furlough[65] Self-isolate[66] Social distancing[67] Megxit[68] TikToker[69] Mukbang[70]
2021	NFT[71]	A digital certificate of ownership of a unique asset, such as an artwork or a collectible.	Climate anxiety Double-vaxxed Metaverse Pingdemic Cheugy Crypto Hybrid working Neopronoun Regencycore
2022	Permacrisis[72]	An extended period of instability and insecurity, esp one resulting from a series of catastrophic events.

Macquarie Dictionary[edit]

The Macquarie Dictionary, which is the dictionary of Australian English, updates the online dictionary each year with new words, phrases, and definitions. These can be viewed on their website.^[73]

Each year the editors select a short-list of new words added to the dictionary and invite the public to vote on their favourite. The public vote is held in January and results in the People’s Choice winner. The most influential word of the year is also selected by the Word of the Year Committee which is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Dr Michael Spence. The Editor of the Macquarie Dictionary, Susan Butler, is also a committee member. The Committee meets annually to select the overall winning words.

The following is the list of winning words since the Macquarie Word of the Year first began in 2006:

Year	Committee’s Choice	People’s Choice
2006	muffin top	(No overall winner. See Macquarie website for category winners)
2007	pod slurping	password fatigue
2008	toxic debt	flashpacker
2009	shovel ready	tweet
2010	googleganger	shockumentary
2011	burqini	fracking
2012	phantom vibration syndrome	First World problem
2013	infovore[74]	onesie
2014	mansplain[75]	shareplate
2015	captain’s call[76]	captain’s call[77]
2016	fake news	halal snack pack
2017	milkshake duck[78][79]	framily[80]
2018	me too[81][82]	single-use[83]
2019	cancel culture	robodebt
2020	doomscrolling, rona	Karen
2021	strollout[84]	strollout
2022	teal	bachelor’s handbag[85]

Merriam-Webster[edit]

The lists of Merriam-Webster’s Words of the Year (for each year) are ten-word lists published annually by the American dictionary-publishing company Merriam-Webster, Inc., which feature the ten words of the year from the English language. These word lists started in 2003 and have been published at the end of each year. At first, Merriam-Webster determined its contents by analyzing page hits and popular searches on its website. Since 2006, the list has been determined by an online poll and by suggestions from visitors to the website.^[86]

The following is the list of words that became Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year since 2003:^[87]

• 2003: democracy
• 2004: blog
• 2005: integrity
• 2006: truthiness
• 2007: w00t
• 2008: bailout
• 2009: admonish
• 2010: austerity
• 2011: pragmatic
• 2012: socialism and capitalism
• 2013: science
• 2014: culture
• 2015: -ism
• 2016: surreal
• 2017: feminism^[88]
• 2018: justice
• 2019: they
• 2020: pandemic^[89]
• 2021: vaccine^[90]
• 2022: gaslighting

Oxford[edit]

Oxford University Press, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary and many other dictionaries, announces an Oxford Dictionaries UK Word of the Year and an Oxford Dictionaries US Word of the Year; sometimes these are the same word. The Word of the Year need not have been coined within the past twelve months but it does need to have become prominent or notable during that time. There is no guarantee that the Word of the Year will be included in any Oxford dictionary. The Oxford Dictionaries Words of the Year are selected by editorial staff from each of the Oxford dictionaries. The selection team is made up of lexicographers and consultants to the dictionary team, and editorial, marketing, and publicity staff.^[91]

Year	UK Word of the Year	US Word of the Year	Hindi Word of the Year
2004	chav
2005	sudoku	podcast
2006	bovvered	carbon-neutral
2007	carbon footprint	locavore
2008	credit crunch	hypermiling
2009	simples (Compare the Meerkat catchphrase)	unfriend
2010	big society	refudiate
2011	squeezed middle
2012	omnishambles	GIF (noun)
2013	selfie[92]
2014	vape[93]
2015	😂 (Face With Tears of Joy, Unicode: U+1F602, part of emoji)[94]
2016	post-truth[95]
2017	youthquake[96]	Aadhaar[a]
2018	toxic[98]	Nari Shakti or Women Power[99]
2019	climate emergency[100]	Samvidhaan or Constitution[101]
2020	No single word chosen[102]	Aatmanirbharta or Self-Reliance[103]
2021	vax[104]
2022	goblin mode[105][106]

Grant Barrett[edit]

Since 2004, lexicographer Grant Barrett has published a words-of-the-year list, usually in The New York Times, though he does not name a winner.

• 2004
• 2005
• 2006
• 2007
• 2008
• 2009
• 2010
• 2011
• 2012
• 2013 in New York Times, also a more complete list
• 2014 in Dallas Morning News

Dictionary.com[edit]

In 2010, Dictionary.com announced its first word of the year, ‘change’, and has done so in December every year since.^[107] The selection is based on search trends on the site throughout the year and the news events that drive them.^[108]

The following is the list of annual words since beginning with the first in 2010:^[107]

• 2010: Change
• 2011: Tergiversate
• 2012: Bluster
• 2013: Privacy
• 2014: Exposure
• 2015: Identity
• 2016: Xenophobia
• 2017: Complicit
• 2018: Misinformation
• 2019: Existential^[109]
• 2020: Pandemic
• 2021: Allyship
• 2022: Woman

Similar word lists[edit]

A Word a Year[edit]

Since 2004, Susie Dent, an English lexicographer has published a column, «A Word a Year», in which she chooses a single word from each of the last 101 years to represent preoccupations of the time. Susie Dent notes that the list is subjective.^{[110][111][112]} Each year, she gives a completely different set of words.

Since Susie Dent works for the Oxford University Press, her words of choice are often incorrectly referred to as «Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year».

Other countries[edit]

In Germany, a Wort des Jahres has been selected since 1972 (for year 1971) by the Society of the German Language.^[113] In addition, an Unwort des Jahres (Un-word of the year or No-no Word of the Year) has been nominated since 1991, for a word or phrase in public speech deemed insulting or socially inappropriate (such as «Überfremdung»).^[114] Similar selections are made each year since 1999 in Austria, 2002 in Liechtenstein, and 2003 in Switzerland. Since 2008, language publisher Langenscheidt supports a search for the German youth word of the year, which aims to find new words entering the language through the vernacular of young people.^[115][116]

In Denmark, the Word of the year has been selected since 2008 by Danmarks Radio and Dansk Sprognævn.

In Japan, the Kanji of the year (kotoshi no kanji) has been selected since 1995. Kanji are adopted Chinese characters in Japanese language. Japan also runs an annual word of the year contest called » U-Can New and Trendy Word Grand Prix» (U-Can shingo, ryūkōgo taishō) sponsored by Jiyu Kokuminsha. Both the kanji and word/phrases of the year are often reflective of Japanese current events and attitudes. For example, in 2011 following the Fukushima power plant disaster, the frustratingly enigmatic phrase used by Japanese officials before the explosion regarding the possibility of meltdown – «the possibility of recriticality is not zero» (Sairinkai no kanōsei zero de wa nai) – became the top phrase of the year. In the same year, the kanji indicating ‘bond’ (i.e. familial bond or friendship) became the kanji of the year, expressing the importance of collectiveness in the face of disaster.^[117]

In Norway, the Word of the year poll is carried out since 2012.

In Portugal, the Word of the year poll is carried out since 2009.

In Russia, the Word of the year poll is carried out since 2007.

In Spain, the Word of the year is carried out by Fundéu since 2013.

In Ukraine, the Word of the year poll is carried out since 2013.

See also[edit]

• Language Report from Oxford University Press
• Lists of Merriam-Webster’s Words of the Year
• Neologism
• Doublespeak Award
• Kanji of the year

Further reading[edit]

• John Ayto, «A Century of New Words», Series: Oxford Paperback Reference (2007) ISBN 0-19-921369-0
• John Ayto, «Twentieth Century Words», Oxford University Press (1999) ISBN 0-19-860230-8

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Top words from 2000 – present @ Global Language Monitor
• Word of the Year Archive @ Macquarie Dictionary
• Word of the Year Archive @ Merriam-Webster
• Word of the Year Archive @ OxfordWords blog
• Austrian Word of the Year
• Canadian Word of the Year
• Liechtenstein Word of the Year
• Switzerland Word of the Year
• Dictionary.com word of the year @ Dictionary.com

CNN
 — 

“Vax” is the Word of the Year for 2021, according to the annual report from Oxford Languages.

Defined as “a colloquialism meaning either vaccine or vaccination as a noun and vaccinate as a verb,” vax was relatively rare until this year, the company, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary, said Monday.

In September, vax appeared more than 72 times more frequently than the year before, said Oxford Languages, which analyzes news content to track changes in the English language.

The word first appeared as a noun in the 1980s and then started to be used as a verb in the early 21st century, according to the report.

“It has generated numerous derivatives that we are now seeing in a wide range of informal contexts, from vax sites and vax cards to getting vaxxed and being fully vaxxed, no word better captures the atmosphere of the past year than vax,” Oxford Languages said.

Data analysis shows that vax is most commonly used in North America, Australia and South East Asia, the company said, but usage is increasing in the UK and other varieties of English.

“As a short pithy word, it appeals, perhaps especially to media commentators, when more formal alternatives are much more long-winded,” the report said.

In 2020, the company was unable to name its traditional word of the year, instead exploring how far and how quickly the language had developed.

The 2020 report moved through the year, detailing the most important words in certain months, based on spikes in use, from “bushfire” in January, when Australia suffered its worst fire season on record, to “acquittal” in February, when former US President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial ended.

In June, use of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” exploded following the police killing of George Floyd in the US, followed by “cancel culture” and “BIPOC,” an abbreviation of “Black, indigenous and other people of color.”

To paraphrase the words of the inimitable Britney Spears, a word like this should wear a warning.

It’s that time of year when dictionary editors around the world sift through the things English speakers have fixated on and settle on a string of letters to sum up the human experience in 2018. Oxford, which chose the hopeful youthquake in 2017, this year decided on the word toxic — as in poisonous, venomous, morally destructive and corrupting.

Oxford’s rubric for making its choice is that the word must sum up the ethos, mood or preoccupations of the preceding months. The word does not need to be newly invented but newly relevant. And toxic is a descriptor, explains Oxford editor Katherine Martin, that touches on “almost all the preoccupations we could think of that have characterized this year … literally and metaphorically.”

There is the ongoing reckoning with sexual harassment and patriarchy (toxic masculinity, toxic relationship). There are concerns about what human beings are doing to the environment and their own health (toxic gas, toxic waste). There are poison-tongued extremists filling the air with divisive rhetoric about issues ranging from Brexit to immigration to, you know, the ongoing reckoning with sexual harassment and patriarchy (toxic environment, toxic culture).

Online trolls are toxic. Chemicals are toxic. Even the algae is toxic. “It’s not a fun one,” Martin explains.

In retrospect, people perhaps could have seen this one coming when Oxford chose post-truth in 2016, a prescient selection that summed up the blurring of truth and fiction that continues to create instability in the macro and the micro, like tectonic plates slowly ripping into one another under our feet. (Merriam Webster, which has yet to announce its selection this year, opted for dumpster fire to sum up that particular jaunt around the sun.)

There is a sense, both in the U.S. and the U.K., where Oxford is based, that there has been a radioactive “polarization in our society,” Martin says, “and what people are seeing as an inability to communicate with your neighbors.”

There have, of course, been bright spots in what sometimes felt like a cultural hellscape.

Martin notes that while a youthquake — meaning “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people” — didn’t end up materializing last year in Commonwealth countries, as Oxford had expected, young people repeatedly took matters into their own hands this year in the U.S. Relentless teenagers in Parkland, Fla., said they had enough when it comes to complacency around mass shootings and violence in America. Young people also organized and voted and rallied in midterms that saw historic turnout.

Most of the lexical items on Oxford’s “short list” are just as dismal as their main pick. Incel, a word describing “a member of an online community of young men who consider themselves unable to attract women sexually,” came to the fore after a fatal van attack in Toronto. Techlash, shorthand for the “strong and widespread negative reaction to the growing power and influence of large technology companies,” reminds us of everything from dispiriting smartphone addiction to the incitement of genocide on social media.

The meaning of gaslighting? Psychological manipulation, often by powerful politicians, that makes people doubt their own sanity and reality. Overtourism? People ruining the world’s most magical places because they’re so keen on bagging another experience. Orbiting? At turns, the internet can feel like it’s home to a bunch of online creepsters.

There is at least one word Oxford selected that reminds us of happier moments. Remember that time that pop icon Ariana Grande complimented her then-fiancee and SNL cast member Pete Davidson for his “BDE,” an acronym that went viral and spun traditional notions of masculinity into new and fascinating territory? That was fun? Right?

It’s a bummer that 2018 was toxic. “But it would be disingenuous,” Martin says, “to pretend this was a sunny year.”

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