List of American Dialect Society's Words of the Year explained
The American Dialect Society's Word of the Year (WotY) are voted at the January American Dialect Society conference. The first year for which the word of the year was voted ("bushlips") by the ADS was 1990.[1]
Sam Corbin, a words and language writer for The New York Times, comparing the ADS WOTY with the likes from prominent dictionaries, wrote that "the American Dialect Society celebrates linguistic variation to an almost absurd degree".[2]
Starting with about 30 society members in early years, as of 2023 the vote drew some 300 participants. Recently the event consists of two parts: the live nominating session, which culls the nominations open to public a month in advance, and the live vote.[2]
2023
- Word of the Year: enshittification[2]
- Most useful/Most likely to succeed: (derogatory): parenthetical comment humorously appended after a word that might not be expected to be derogatory
- Political Word of the Year: (watermelon emoji): symbol of Palestinian solidarity used on social media
- Digital Word of the Year: enshittification
- Informal Word of the Year: "let (someone) cook": allow (someone) to do something that they are good at without interference
- Acronym/Initialism of the Year: FAFO (fuck around and find out): warning that foolish actions will result in unwanted consequences
- AI-related Word of the Year: stochastic parrot
- Most Creative Word of the Year: Kenaissance: renaissance in the wake of the Barbie movie's depiction of Ken
- Euphemism of the Year: "structurally restrictive housing": solitary confinement (rebranded by the New York City Department of Correction)
2022
- Word of the Year: "-ussy": suffix from "pussy", attached to various words, as in "bussy" = "boy pussy"[1]
- Most useful/Most likely to succeed: "quiet quitting", minimal performance at a job [1]
- Political Word of the Year: "Dark Brandon", a hint to "Let's Go Brandon, a hint to Joe Biden[1]
- Digital Word of the Year: "-dle", for Wordle-like games[1]
- Informal Word of the Year: " it’s giving (X)",[1]
- Most Creative Word of the Year: "-ussy", see above[1]
- Euphemism of the Year: "special military operation", same choice and as for the Russian Word of the Year 2022: a euphemism for the Russian invasion of Ukraine[1]
- Snowclone/phrasal template of the Year: "not X", to ironically express mock horror, incredulity, etc.[1]
- Emoji of the Year: [skull], to express death (not) from something: laugher, frustration, etc.[1]
2005
- Word of the Year: truthiness[1]
- Most Useful: podcast
- Most Creative: whale-tail
- Most Unnecessary: K Fed
- Most Outrageous: crotchfruit, a child or children[1]
- Most Euphemistic: internal nutrition, force-feeding a prisoner[1]
- Most Likely to Succeed: sudoku
- Least Likely to Succeed: pope-squatting, registering a likely domain name of a new pope in advance[1]
- Special nonce category, Best Tom Cruise-Related Word: "jump the couch"[1]
1990
- Word of the Year: bushlips: insincere political rhetoric; the term was inspired by the former president, George H.W. Bush, who once said, "Read my lips, no new taxes, and then broke his promise.[2]
Notes and References
- https://americandialect.org/woty/all-of-the-words-of-the-year-1990-to-present All of the Words of the Year, 1990 to Present
- Sam Corbin, Among Linguists, the Word of the Year Is More of a Vibe, The New York Times
