Oxford Has Announced 2016’s Word of the Year

This year’s word of the year is “post-truth”

Definition: “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”

According to Oxford Dictionaries the word was used more frequently in June with regards to the Brexit vote, and again in July when Donald Trump won the Republican presidential nomination.

Word of the Day: post-truth… https://t.co/O3bZVuqNVq

— Oxford Dictionaries (@OxfordWords) November 16, 2016

Here are the other words that made this year’s shortlist:

Adulting, The practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks

Alt-right, An ideological grouping associated with extreme conservative or reactionary viewpoints, characterized by a   rejection of mainstream politics and by the use of online media to disseminate deliberately controversial content

Brexiteer, A person who is in favour of the UK withdrawing from the European Union

Chatbot, A computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the internet

Coulrophobia, Extreme or irrational fear of clowns

Glass cliff, Used with reference to a situation in which a woman or member of a minority group ascends to a leadership position in challenging circumstances where the risk of failure is high

Hygge, A quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture)

Latinx, A person of Latin American origin or descent, used as a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina

Woke, Originally in African-American usage meaning alert to injustice in society, especially racism