Dictionary.com lexicographers analyze headlines, social media tendencies, search engine outcomes and different knowledge to provide you with the phrase of the yr. This yr, it is “demure.”
Dictionary.com/Screenshot by NPR
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Dictionary.com/Screenshot by NPR
“Demure” is Dictionary.com’s phrase of the yr, with all of the credit score for its reputation going to life-style and wonder influencer Jools Lebron and her catchphrase, “very demure, very conscious.”
“Demure” means “reserved, quiet, or modest,” however the response to Lebron’s use of the phrase was something however.
Dictionary.com calls demure’s rise in utilization “meteoric” in 2024, after Lebron began utilizing it in early August.
“Between August 2023 and July 2024, there was no vital pattern within the utilization of the phrase demure,” in response to Dictionary.com. “By the week of Aug. 18, 2024, nonetheless, there was nearly 14 instances extra curiosity within the time period, highlighting the time period’s nearly in a single day explosion in reputation. On the peak of the pattern, demure had 200 instances extra searches on Dictionary.com than it did on dates previous August.”
Dictionary.com’s lexicographers analyze headlines, social media tendencies, search engine outcomes and different knowledge to provide you with its phrase of the yr, calling it a “linguistic time capsule” that captures “pivotal moments in language and tradition.”
The second was definitely pivotal for Lebron. Her TikTok audience skyrocketed. Celebrities, together with Jennifer Lopez and Khloé Kardashian, made their very own “demure” movies. Lebron was interviewed on CBS Mornings and appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Reside! with visitor host RuPaul.
“Very demure, very conscious” was so well-liked, there was a surge in trademark functions by folks attempting to capitalize on Lebron’s motto.
Lebron reacted demurely to the information.
Different phrases that stood out for Dictionary.com’s lexicographers this yr have been “brainrot,” “brat” and “excessive climate.”
