海角大神

The results of the 2024 United States presidential election 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 Merriam-Webster word of the year 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 the Dec. 9 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. According to AP VoteCast, 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 Ms. Harris鈥� 鈥� were too extreme, while about 7 in 10 Trump voters felt the same way about Ms. Harris 鈥� but not Mr. Trump.

The Merriam-Webster entry for 鈥減olarization鈥� 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鈥檚 pick was 鈥渁uthentic.鈥� This year鈥檚 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� Mr. 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, Mr. 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鈥檚 used to highlight fresh cracks and deep rifts alike in pop culture, tech trends, and other industries.

All the scrutiny over Taylor Swift鈥檚 private jet usage? Polarizing. Beef between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake? Polarizing. The International Olympic Committee鈥檚 decision to strip American gymnast Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal 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鈥檚 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. Mr. 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鈥檚 top 10 words of 2024:

Demure

TikToker Jools Lebron鈥檚 38-second video describing her workday makeup routine as 鈥渧ery demure, very mindful鈥� lit up the summer with memes. The video has been viewed more than 50 million times, yielding 鈥渉uge spikes鈥� in lookups, Mr. Sokolowski said, and prompting many to learn it means reserved or modest.

Fortnight

Taylor Swift鈥檚 song 鈥淔ortnight,鈥� featuring rapper Post Malone, undoubtedly spurred many searches for this word, which means two weeks. 鈥淢usic can still send people to the dictionary,鈥� Mr. Sokolowski said.

Totality

The solar eclipse in April 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 Canada, otherwise known as the path of totality, 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 鈥榬esonate,鈥欌�� Mr. 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, artificial intelligence 鈥渁lso betrays itself to be a robot because it鈥檚 using that word too much.鈥�

Allision

The word was looked up 60 times more 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� Mr. Sokolowski said.

Weird

This summer on the TV news show 鈥淢orning Joe,鈥� Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called Republican leaders 鈥渨eird.鈥� It may have been what launched his national career, landing him as the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Though it鈥檚 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, Mr. Sokolowski said.

Cognitive

Whether the word 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

Pander was used widely in political commentary, Mr. 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 Mr. Walz said Mr. 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 word 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鈥檚 most looked up. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a poignancy to that, that people are checking up on it,鈥� Mr. Sokolowski said. 鈥淢aybe the most hopeful thing that the curiosity of the public shows, is that they鈥檙e paying attention.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writer Amelia Thomson-Deveaux contributed to this report.