The age of misinformation

2022 is coming to a close. It is the time when English language dictionary publishers choose their words of the year. Sometimes the choice is based on how many times people look them up. Another method to select words is counting the frequency of their use in the news.

It is always interesting to know what words are chosen by professionals. In the age of misinformation, we have already learned the meanings of different expressions like “deep fake”, “Twitter trolls” and “fake news”. At the end of November, American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster has announced that it has selected “gaslighting” as its word of the year for 2022. The dictionary describes gaslighting as “the accomplishment or practice of grossly misleading someone, specifically for one’s own advantage."

In 2022, searches for gaslighting on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740 percent over 2021. Peter Sokolowski is Merriam-Webster’s editor at large. In the interview given to the AP journalist he told, “It is a word that has risen so rapidly in the English language, and especially in the last 4 years, that it indeed came as a surprise to me and to many of us."

Cambridge dictionary choice

Lately, Cambridge Dictionary has announced its word of the year. It is a homer. Cambridge says that a homer, short for homerun, “is a point scored in baseball when one hits the ball, usually out of the playing field, and the player is able to run around all the bases at one time right to the starting base.”

You may ask why homer. Cambridge explains that there were over 65,000 searches for this very word in a single day. It was May 5. That was the day when homer was chosen as the winning word on the popular online word game Wordle. The British publisher said many Wordle players outside of the United States had never not heard this word before. Some expressed their deep frustration on social media, but many more turned to Cambridge to look up for its meaning.

The popularity of Wordle is now on the rise. It has also brought searches for other 5-letter words. Caulk, tacit, humor, and bayou are among them.

And what about Collins dictionary?

Another publisher, Collins, has selected the word “permacrisis” as the word of the year. It is stated that 2022 seems to be a year of permanent crisis taking into account the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the worldwide economic downturn. The meaning of the word in the dictionary is the following: “an extended period of instability and insecurity.”

Collins said the year also gave us new terms like quiet quitting, which involves doing no more work than necessary. Plus, sportswashing, which people are accusing Qatar and Saudi Arabia are doing with the World Cup and LIV golf.

Oxford word for 2022

The Oxford Dictionary has called the phrase "goblin mode" as its word of the year. This slang expression denotes a type of behavior that is characterized by unabashed self-indulgence, laziness, slovenliness and greed, and is also characterized by the rejection of "social norms or expectations."

This year, for the first time, the word of the year was chosen by public vote. According to the editors of the Oxford dictionary, 2022 has been a year characterized by reopening after COVID-19 pandemic. So, Oxford decided to leave the selection of word of the year to the public.