The results of the rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world 鈥� or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the is 鈥減olarization鈥�?
鈥淧olarization means division, but it鈥檚 a very specific kind of division,鈥� said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster鈥檚 editor at large, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press ahead of Monday's announcement. 鈥淧olarization means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the center.鈥�
The election was so divisive, many American voters went to the polls with a feeling that the opposing candidate was an existential threat to the nation. a survey of more than 120,000 voters, about 8 in 10 Kamala Harris voters were very or somewhat concerned that Donald Trump鈥檚 views 鈥� but not Harris' 鈥� were too extreme, while about 7 in 10 Trump voters felt the same way about Harris 鈥� but not Trump.
The reflects scientific and metaphorical definitions. It鈥檚 most commonly used to mean 鈥渃ausing strong disagreement between opposing factions or groupings.鈥� Merriam-Webster, which logs 100 million pageviews a month on its site, chooses its word of the year based on data, tracking a rise in search and usage.
Last year's This year's comes as large swaths of the U.S. struggle to reach consensus on what is real.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been important to me that the dictionary serve as a kind of neutral and objective arbiter of meaning for everybody,鈥� Sokolowski said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a kind of backstop for meaning in an era of fake news, alternative facts, whatever you want to say about the value of a word鈥檚 meaning in the culture.鈥�
It鈥檚 notable that 鈥減olarization鈥� originated in the early 1800s 鈥� and not during the Renaissance, as did most words with Latin roots about science, Sokolowski said. He called it a 鈥減retty young word,鈥� in the scheme of the English language. 鈥淧olarized is a term that brings intensity to another word,鈥� he continued, most frequently used in the U.S. to describe race relations, politics and ideology.
鈥淭he basic job of the dictionary is to tell the truth about words,鈥� the Merriam-Webster editor continued. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had dictionaries of English for 420 years and it鈥檚 only been in the last 20 years or so that we鈥檝e actually known which words people look up.鈥�
鈥淧olarization鈥� extends beyond political connotations. It's used to highlight fresh cracks and deep rifts alike tech trends and other industries.
All the scrutiny over ? Polarizing. Beef between rappers ? Polarizing. The International Olympic Committee's decision to strip American after the Paris Games? You guessed it: polarizing.
Even lighthearted memes 鈥� like those making fun of Australian breakdancer Rachael 鈥淩aygun鈥� Gunn's performance 鈥� or the proliferation of look-alike contests, or who counts as a nepo baby proved polarizing.
Paradoxically though, people tend to see eye to eye on the word itself. Sokolowski cited its frequent use among people across the political spectrum, including commentators on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.
鈥淚t鈥檚 used by both sides,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd in a little bit ironic twist to the word, it鈥檚 something that actually everyone agrees on.鈥�
Rounding out Merriam-Webster's top 10 words of 2024:
Demure
describing her workday makeup routine as 鈥渧ery , very mindful鈥� lit up the summer with memes. The video has been viewed , yielding 鈥渉uge spikes鈥� in lookups, Sokolowski said, and prompting many to learn it means reserved or modest.
Fortnight
song 鈥淔ortnight,鈥� featuring rapper Post Malone, undoubtedly spurred many searches for , which means two weeks. 鈥淢usic can still send people to the dictionary,鈥� Sokolowski said.
Totality
The inspired awe and much travel. There are tens of millions of people who live along a narrow stretch from Mexico鈥檚 Pacific coast to eastern sa国际传媒, otherwise known as the path of , where locals and travelers gazed skyward to see the moon fully blot out the sun. Generally, the word refers to a sum or aggregate amount 鈥� or wholeness.
Resonate
鈥淭exts developed by AI have a disproportionate percentage of use of the word Sokolowski said. This may be because the word, which means to affect or appeal to someone in a personal or emotional way, can add gravitas to writing. But, paradoxically, 鈥渁lso betrays itself to be a robot because it鈥檚 using that word too much.鈥�
Allision
The often than usual when, in March, a ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. 鈥淲hen you have one moving object into a fixed object, that鈥檚 an allision, not a collision. You鈥檙e showing that one of the two objects struck was not, in fact, in motion,鈥� Sokolowski said.
Weird
This summer on the TV news show 鈥淢orning Joe,鈥� Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called Republican leaders It may have been landing him as the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Though it's a word that people typically misspell 鈥� is it 鈥渆i鈥� or 鈥渋e鈥�? 鈥� and search for that reason, its rise in use was notable, Sokolowski said.
Cognitive
Whether was used to raise questions about President Joe Biden鈥檚 debate performance or Trump鈥檚 own age, it cropped up often. It refers to conscious intellectual activity 鈥� such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering.
Pander
was used widely in political commentary, Sokolowski said. 鈥淐onservative news outlets accused Kamala Harris of pandering to different groups, especially young voters, Black voters, gun rights supporters.鈥� Whereas Walz said Trump鈥檚 visit to a McDonald鈥檚 kitchen pandered to hourly wage workers. It means to say, do, or provide what someone 鈥� such as an audience 鈥� wants or demands even though it is not 鈥済ood, proper, reasonable, etc.鈥�
Democracy
In 2003, Merriam-Webster decided to make 鈥渄emocracy鈥� its first word of the year. Since then, the 鈥� which, of course, means a form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions, policies and laws 鈥� is consistently one of the dictionary's most looked up. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a poignancy to that, that people are checking up on it,鈥� Sokolowski said. "Maybe the most hopeful thing that the curiosity of the public shows, is that they鈥檙e paying attention.鈥�
___
Associated Press polling editor Amelia Thomson-Deveaux contributed reporting.
___
Which words defined the last 10 years, according to Merriam-Webster?
1. 2023:
2. 2022:
3. 2021:
4. 2020:
5. 2019:
6. 2018:
7. 2017:
8. 2016:
9. 2015:
10. 2014:
Anna Furman, The Associated Press
