Adulting, chatbot and hygge all shortlisted for Word of the Year 2016
Do you know what these mean?
Every year Oxford Dictionaries choose their Word of the Year and this time 'post-truth' fought off competition from various other words including adulting, Brexiteer and coulrophobia.
'Post-truth', is an adjective defined as relating to circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than emotional appeals. Although the word itself has been around since 1992 its usage has seen a spike in the last 12 months in the run up to the EU Referendum.
The Word of the Year shortlist contains words that weren't necessarily coined this year, however they may have "taken on new meaning or have particular resonance in 2016", here are the other words that made the shortlist.
adulting def: The practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks. via GIPHY
alt-right def: Shortened form of ‘alternative right’ meaning those with extreme conservative or reactionary viewpoints.
Brexiteer def: A person who is in favour of the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union.
chatbot def: A computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the Internet.
coulrophobia def: Extreme or irrational fear of clowns.
glass cliff def: A situation in which a woman or member of a minority group ascends to a leadership position in challenging circumstances.
hygge def: A quality of cosiness and comfortable friendliness.
Latinx def: A person of Latin American origin or descent (used as a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina).
woke def: Alert to injustice in society, especially racism.