Nominations for the 2016 word of the year have been posted. The final vote will be held at 5 p.m. CST, Friday, January 6th, at the JW Marriott Austin Downtown, Austin, TX, Grand Ballroom Salons 1-2.
You can still make nominations in person when the final vote will be taken. Nominations should be some or all of the following: widely used, new or newly popular, significant to the happenings of 2016, indicative of public discourse and national preoccupations in 2016. Single words, phrases, compounds, catch phrases, hashtags, emoji, and other types of brief written or spoken communication are accepted as nominations.
American Dialect Society 2016 Words of the Year
NOMINATIONS to be voted on by the American Dialect Society, Jan. 6, 2017, Austin, TX
POLITICAL WORD OF THE YEAR
- deplorables (basket of): epithet used by Clinton in speech about Trump supporters
- nasty woman: epithet used by Trump addressing Clinton in final presidential debate
- Pantsuit Nation: popular Facebook group for Clinton supporters
- post-truth: belonging to a time in which facts matter less than beliefs and emotions
- unpresidented: erroneous version of unprecedented in a tweet by Trump
DIGITAL WORD OF THE YEAR
- fam: one’s crew, squad, circle of friends, etc.
- Harambe: gorilla killed at Cincinnati Zoo, launching numerous tributes and memes
- tweetstorm: series of connected tweets about a particular subject, often a passionate rant
- @: (verb) reply on Twitter using the @ symbol
SLANG WORD OF THE YEAR
- fire: (adj.) cool, fun, stylish
- receipts: proof (as in “show me the receipts”)
- slay: succeed, be excellent or amazing
- woke: socially aware or enlightened
MOST USEFUL/LIKELY TO SUCCEED
- chip: (verb) insert a bank card into an electronic chip reader (as opposed to swipe)
- gaslight: psychologically manipulate a person into questioning their own sanity
- normalize: render normal that which was previously deemed beyond acceptable bounds
- turn up: get excited, have fun, enjoy oneself
MOST CREATIVE
- -exit: combining form relating to departure, after Brexit (Calexit, Texit, Brangelexit)
- facticide: killing or distortion of facts
- gynotician: politician seen as interfering with women’s healthcare
- laissez-fairydust: magical effect brought upon by laissez-faire economics
EUPHEMISM OF THE YEAR
- alt-right: umbrella term for extremist racial ideologies including white nationalism and white supremacy
- fake news: misinformation, hoaxes, and propaganda, especially as spread on social media sites to boost web traffic
- locker-room banter: lewd, vulgar talk (used by Trump to downplay Access Hollywood tape)
- small/tiny hands: jab at hand size implying other anatomical deficiencies
WTF WORD OF THE YEAR
- bigly: in a significant manner (from widespread mishearing of Trump’s use of big-league)
- cuck, cuckservative: derisive term for mainstream Republicans by alt-right
- pussy: term for female genitalia used by Trump in Access Hollywood tape
- yuuuge: dialect pronunciation of huge used by Trump and Bernie Sanders
HASHTAG OF THE YEAR
- #blackgirlmagic: celebration of black women and their achievements
- #NoDAPL: protest against construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline
- #OscarsSoWhite: criticism of Academy Award nominees’ lack of diversity
- #pussygrabsback: rallying cry responding to Trump’s “pussy” remark
EMOJI OF THE YEAR
- 🙌: raising hands (celebration, praise)
- ✊🏽: raised fist (fist pump, solidarity)
- 🙃: upside-down face (silliness, sarcasm, irony)
- 🔥: fire (“lit,” exciting); 🗑🔥: dumpster fire
WORD OF THE YEAR
Nominations to be made at final meeting.