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The American Dialect Society's Word of the Year are voted at the January American Dialect Society conference. The first year for which the word of the year was voted by the ADS was 1990.

Lists

Euphemism of the Year

1993	street builder	a homeless person who constructs a shanty.
1994	challenged	indicating an undesirable or unappealing condition.
1995	patriot	one who believes in using force of arms if necessary to defend individual rights against the government.
1996	urban camping	living homeless in a city
	food insecure	said of a country where people are starving.
1997	exit bag	bag placed over the head to assist in suicide.
1998	senior moment	momentary lapse of memory due to age.
1999	compassionate conservative
2000	courtesy call	an uninvited call from a telemarketer.
2001	daisy cutter	large bomb that explodes a few feet above the ground.
2002	regime change	forced change in leadership.
2003	pre-emptive self-defense	attack before a possible attack on oneself.
2004	badly sourced	false.
2005	internal nutrition	force-feeding a prisoner.
2006	waterboarding	an interrogation technique in which the subject is immobilized and doused with water to simulate drowning; reported to be used by U.S. interrogators against terrorism detainees.
2007	human terrain team	a group of social scientists employed by the US military to serve as cultural advisers in Iraq or Afghanistan.
2008	scooping technician	A person whose job it is to pick up dog poop.
2009	hike the Appalachian trail	To go away to have sex with one’s illicit lover. Follows on a statement by South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who went to Argentina to visit his mistress.
2010	kinetic event	Pentagon term for violent attacks on troops in Afghanistan. 84/WINNER
2011	job creator	a member of the top one-percent of moneymakers. 111 WINNER
2012	self-deportation	policy of encouraging illegal immigrants to return voluntarily to their home countries 142 WINNER
2013	least untruthful	involving the smallest necessary lie (used by intelligence director James Clapper). 121
2014	EIT	abbreviation for the already euphemistic “enhanced interrogation technique.” 108/139
2015	Netflix and chill	sexual come-on masked as a suggestion to watch Netflix and relax. 315
2016	locker-room banter	lewd, vulgar talk (used by Trump to downplay Access Hollywood tape),
2017	alternative facts	Contrary information that matches one’s preferred narrative or interpretation of events.
2018	racially charged	circumlocution for “racist” 223
2019	people of means	rich people (used by Starbucks executive Howard Schultz to refer to himself and fellow billionaires)
2020	essential (workers, labor, businesses)	used for people, often underpaid, who are actually treated as expendable because they are required to work and thus risk infection from coronavirus
2021	unalive	term used as a substitute for “suicide” or “kill” to avoid social media filters
2022	special military operation	Russian designation for invasion of Ukraine 50/121

Most Useful

1990	potty parity	equalization of toilet facilities for the sexes.
1997	duh (with a falling intonation)	expression of someone else’s stupidity.
2000	civil union	legal same-sex marriage.
2002	google (verb)	as in “to google someone, ” to search the Web using the search engine Google for information on a person or thing.
2003	flexitarian	vegetarian who occasionally eats meat.
2004	phish	to induce someone to reveal private information by means of deceptive e-mail.
2005	podcast	audio or video file for downloading.
2006	climate canary	an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon.
2007	green– prefix/compounding form	designates environmental concern, as in greenwashing.
2008	Barack Obama	both names as combining forms.
2009	fail	A noun or interjection used when something is egregiously unsuccessful. Usually written as “FAIL!”
2010	nom	Onomatopoetic form connoting eating, esp. pleasurably. Can be used as an interjection or noun to refer to delicious food. 49/72 WINNER
2011	humblebrag	expression of false humility, especially by celebrities on Twitter. 87/121 WINNER
2012	-(po)calypse, -(ma)geddon	hyperbolic combining forms for various catastrophes 66/115 WINNER
2013	because	introducing a noun, adjective, or other part of speech (e.g., “because reasons,” “because awesome”). 64/117
2014	even	deal with or reconcile difficult situations or emotions (from “I can’t even”). 133
2015	they	gender-neutral singular pronoun for a known person, particularly as a nonbinary identifier. 214
2017	die by suicide	A variant of “to commit suicide” that does not suggest a criminal act.
2018	Voldemorting	avoiding mention of unpleasant person or topic by using a replacement term 114
2020	Before Times	the time before the beginning of the pandemic (followed by Now Times or After Times)
2021	hard pants	pants that lack an elastic waistband or stretchy fabric, unlike the “soft pants” favored by those working from home during the pandemic

Most Likely to Succeed

1990	notebook PC	a portable personal computer weighting 4-8 pounds
1991	rollerblade	skate with rollers in a single row.
1992	snail mail	s-mail, mail that is physically delivered, as opposed to e-mail.
1993	quotative like with a form of the verb be to indicate speech or thought.
1995	World Wide Web, the Web, WWW, W3.
1996	drive-by	designating brief visits or hospital stays.
1997	DVD	Digital Versatile Disk, optical disk expected to replace CDs.
2000	muggle	Harry Potter term for a non-wizard; a mundane, unimaginative person.
2001	9-11.
2002	blog	from “weblog, ” a website of personal events, comments, and links.
2003	SARS	Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, viral disease first reported in Asia in February.
2004	red/blue/purple states.
2005	sudoku	number puzzle from Japan.
2006	YouTube as a verb	to use the YouTube web site or to have a video of one’s self be posted on the site.
2009	twenty-ten	A pronunciation of the year 2010, as opposed to saying “two thousand ten” or “two thousand and ten.” (twenty- as prefix until 2099)
2010	trend	Verb: to exhibit a burst of online buzz. 73/WINNER
2011	cloud	online space for the large-scale processing and storage of data. 155 WINNER
2012	marriage equality	legal recognition of same-sex marriage 156 WINNER
2013	binge-watch	to consume vast quantities of a single show or series of visual entertainment in one sitting. 117
2014	salty	exceptionally bitter, angry, or upset. 78/131
2015	ghost	(verb) abruptly end a relationship by cutting off communication, especially online. 223
2017	fake news	Disinformation or falsehoods presented as real news. Actual news that is claimed to be untrue.
2018	single-use	made to be used only once and destroyed 101/149
2020	antiracism	the practice of actively working to prevent or combat racism
2021	antiwork	position supporting the refusal to work, pushing back against labor exploitation

Least Likely to Succeed

1998	compfusion	confusion over computers.
2000	kablokeys	used in phrases like “It scared the kablokeys out of me.”
2001	Osamaniac	woman sexually attracted to terrorist Osama bin Laden.
2003	tomacco	poisonous hybrid of tomato and tobacco. Best Revival of an old term
2004	FLOHPA	Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, important states in the 2004 presidential election.
2005	pope-squatting	registering a likely domain name of a new pope before the pope chooses his new name in order to profit from it.
2006	grup	a Gen-Xer who does not act his or her age.
2007	strand-in	protest duplicating being stranded inside an airplane on a delayed flight.
2008	PUMA	An acronym for Party Unity My Ass,used by Democrats who were disaffected after Hillary Clinton failed to secure a sufficient number of delegates. It was later said to stand for Party Unity Means Action.
2009	Any name of the decade 2000-2009, such as Naughties, Aughties, Oughties, etc.
2010	culturomics	Research project from Google analyzing the history of language and culture 44/85 WINNER
2011	brony	adult male fan of the “My Little Pony” cartoon franchise. 103 WINNER
2012	phablet	mid-sized electronic device between a smartphone and a tablet 76/92 WINNER
2012	YOLO	acronym for “You Only Live Once,” often used sarcastically or self-deprecatingly79/91 WINNER
2013	Thanksgivukkah	confluence of Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah that will not be repeated for another 70,000 years. 159
2014	platisher	online media publisher that also serves as a platform for creating content. 173
2015	sitbit	device that rewards sedentary lifestyle (play on Fitbit fitness tracker). 102 / 191

Digital Word of the Year

2016	@	(verb) reply on Twitter using the @ symbol. 155
2017	shitpost	Posting of worthless or irrelevant online content intended to derail a conversation or to provoke others.
2018	techlash	backlash against tech innovators 92/113
2019	im🍑	emoji representation of “impeach”
2020	doomscrolling	obsessively scanning social media and websites for bad news
2021	#FreeBritney	hashtag for those supporting the release of Britney Spears from the conservatorship set up by her father 13 years ago
2022	-dle	suffix for Wordle-like games (Heardle, Absurdle, Foodle, Worldle, Redactle, etc.)

Emoji of the Year

2015	🍆	eggplant (sexual innuendo). 138
2016	🔥	fire (“lit,” exciting); also used in dumpster fire. 201
2017	🧕	woman with head scarf or hijab.
2018	🤔	thinking face (indicating bemused pondering)
2020	😷	indicating mask-wearing during the pandemic
2022	💀	expressing figurative death (from laughter, frustration, etc.)

Hashtag of the Year

2014	#blacklivesmatter	protest over blacks killed at the hands of police (esp. Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., Eric Garner in Staten Island). 226
2015	#SayHerName	call to bring attention to violence against women of color. 178
2016	#NoDAPL	protest against construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. 198
2017	#MeToo	Indication by women that they have experienced sexual harassment or assault.
2018	#nottheonion	reporting something true that seems like satire from The Onion 96

Most Original

1990	voice merging	the oral tradition of African-American preachers using another’s words.
1991	molecular pharming	pharming, genetically modifying farm animals to produce human proteins for pharmaceutical use.
1992	Franken-	genetically altered.
1995	postal or go postal	to act irrationally, often violently, from stress at work.
1996	prebuttal	preemptive rebuttal.
1997	prairie dogging	popping one’s head above an office cubicle for the sake of curiosity.
1998	multislacking	playing at the computer when one should be working.
1999	cybersquat	to register a web address intending to sell it at a profit.

Most Creative

2000	dot bomb	a failed dot-com.
2001	shuicide bomber	terrorist with bomb in shoes.
2002	Iraqnophobia	strong fear of Iraq.
2003	freegan	person who eats only free food.
2004	pajamahadeen	bloggers who challenge and fact-check traditional media.
2005	whale-tail	the appearance of thong or g-string underwaear above the waistband.
2006	lactard	a person who is lactose-intolerant.
2007	googlegänger	a person with your name who shows up when you google yourself.
2008	recombobulation area	an area at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee in which passengers that have just passed through security screening can get their clothes and belongings back in order.
2009	Dracula sneeze	Covering one’s mouth with the crook of one’s elbow when sneezing, seen as similar to popular portrayals of the vampire Dracula, in which he hides the lower half of his face with a cape.
2010	prehab	Preemptive enrollment in a rehab facility to prevent relapse of an abuse problem. 45/65 WINNER
2011	Mellencamp	a woman who has aged out of being a “cougar” (after John Cougar Mellencamp). 103 WINNER
2012	gate lice	airline passengers who crowd around a gate waiting to board 53/93 WINNER
2013	catfish	to misrepresent oneself online, especially as part of a romantic deception. 62/94
2014	columbusing	cultural appropriation, especially the act of a white person claiming to discover things already known to minority cultures. 158
2015	ammosexual	someone who loves firearms in a fetishistic manner. 153
2016	laissez-fairydust	magical effect brought upon by laissez-faire economics. 152
2017	broflake	Man or boy who lacks resilience or coping skills in the face of disagreements or setbacks.
2018	white-caller crime	phenomenon of white people calling police on black people for doing mundane things 158
2019	nobody:	phrasal template mocking someone providing an unsolicited opinion

Most Outrageous

1990	politically correct, PC	adhering to principles of left-wing social concern.
1992	ethnic cleansing	purging of ethnic minorities.
1993	whirlpooling	assault of a female by a male group in a swimming pool.
1995	starter marriage	a first marriage not expected to be the last.
1996	toy soldier	land mine.
1997	Florida flambe	fire caused by Florida electric chair.
1998	Ejaculation Proclamation	the President’s confession.
1999	humanitarian intervention	use of military force for humanitarian purposes.
2000	wall humping	rubbing a thigh against a security card scanner to allow access without removing the card from one’s pocket.
2001	assoline	methane used as fuel.
2002	neuticles	fake testicles for neutered pets.
2003	cliterati	feminist writers or leaders.
2004	santorum	byproduct of anal sex, using the name of a senator opposed to the practice.
2005	crotchfruit	a child or children.
2006	Cambodian accessory	Angelina Jolie’s adopted child who is Cambodian.
2007	toe-tapper	A homosexual. Senator Larry Craig was arrested in June for an encounter in a public restroom in which toe-tapping was said to have been used as a sexual come-on.
2008	terrorist fist jab	A knuckle-to-knuckle fist bump,or “dap,” traditionally performed between two black people as a sign of friendship, celebration or agreement. It was called the “terrorist fist jab” by the newscaster E. D. Hill, formerly of Fox News.
2009	death panel	A supposed committee of doctors and/or bureaucrats who would decide which patients were allowed to receive treatment, ostensibly leaving the rest to die
2010	gate rape	Pejorative term for invasive new airport pat-down procedure. 55/67 WINNER
2011	assholocracy	rule by obnoxious multi-millionaires. 166 WINNER
2012	legitimate rape	type of rape that Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin claimed rarely results in pregnancy 156 WINNER
2013	underbutt	the underside of buttocks, made visible by certain shorts or underwear. 54/110
2014	second-amendment	v. to kill (someone) with a gun, used ironically by gun control supporters. 192
2015	fuckboy, fuckboi	derogatory term for a man who behaves objectionably or promiscuously. 127 / 173

Most Unnecessary

1990	peace dividend	anticipated saving in military spending due to improved relations with the Soviet Union.
1991	massively parallel	many small computers yoked together.
1992	gender feminism	belief that sex roles are social, not biological.
1993	mosaic culture to describe a multicultural society.
1995	Vanna White shrimp	large shrimp for the restaurant market.
1996	Mexican hustle	another name for the Macarena (which is not Mexican).
1997	heaven-o	replacement for “hello.”
1998	the entire Monica Lewinsky word family	including Big She as a synonym for M.L., and the verb Lewinsky, to engage in what might be sexual relations.
1999	Milly	dance commissioned by the city of Chicago for the millennium.
2000	sudden loss of wealth syndrome.
2001	impeachment nostalgia	longing for the superficial news of the Clinton era.
2002	wombanization	feminization, from Alexander Barnes’s book “The Book Read Backwards: The Deconstruction of Patriarchy and the Wombanization of Being.”
2003	freedom	for “French” as in fries and kisses.
2004	stalkette	a female stalker.
2005	K Fed	Kevin Federline, Mr. Britney Spears.
2006	SuriKat	the supposed nickname of the baby girl of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
2009	sea kittens	fish (according to PETA)
2010	refudiate	Blend of refute and repudiate used by Sarah Palin on Twitter. 72/WINNER
2011	bi-winning	term used by Charlie Sheen to describe himself pridefully, dismissing accusations of being bipolar. 77/156 WINNER
2012	legitimate rape	type of rape that Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin claimed rarely results in pregnancy 94 WINNER
2013	sharknado	a tornado full of sharks, as featured in the Syfy Channel movie of that name. 162
2014	baeless	without a romantic partner (lacking a bae). 96/133
2015	manbun	man’s hairstyle pulled up in a bun. 207
2007	Happy Kwanhanamas!	[Kwanza + Hanukka + Christmas] Happy holidays!
2008	moofing	from “mobile out of office,” meaning working on the go with a laptop and cell phone. Created by a PR firm.

Political Word of the Year

2016	post-truth	belonging to a time in which facts matter less than beliefs and emotions.133/164
2017	take a knee	Kneel in protest, especially during a time when others are standing.
2018	(the) wall	proposed barrier along the US/Mexico border to prevent illegal crossings 102/168
2019	quid pro quo	exchange of favors (central to Trump/Ukraine impeachment scandal)
2020	abolish/defund	verbs used (at times hyperbolically) to call for drastic restructuring or reforming of law enforcement in the aftermath of the George Floyd police killing
2021	insurrection	violent attempt to take control of the government, applied to the Capitol attack of Jan. 6, 2021
2022	Dark Brandon	sinister, powerful alter ego of Joe Biden (play on “Let’s Go Brandon”)

WTF Word of the Year

2016	bigly	in a significant manner (from widespread mishearing of Trump’s use of big-league). 159
2017	covfefe	A (probably) mistyped word of unknown meaning used in a Donald Trump tweet.
2018	deleted family unit	bureaucratic term that referred to asylum-seeking families whose children were removed 95