Oxford is out with its 2024 word of the year, and it's a term that's appeared on other end-of-year lists: "brain rot," referencing what happens to one's brain when one mindlessly scrolls social media and other trivial online content. Oxford University Press, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary, came up with a shortlist that also included "demure," "dynamic pricing," "lore," "romantasy," and "slop," and more than 37,000 people voted to determine the winner. In a statement, Oxford University Press says the winning term "gained new prominence in 2024 as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media."
- A week ago, Cambridge Dictionary revealed "manifest"—as in, the belief that visualization of what you want will bring it into existence—as its word of the year, CNN reports. "In 2024, the word manifest jumped from being mainly used in the self-help community and on social media to being mentioned widely across mainstream media," the dictionary explained in a statement. "The use of this sense of manifest has gained in popularity with the increasing number of 'manifesting influencers' promoting this scientifically unproven practice on social media."
- The Economist selected the Greek word "kakistocracy," meaning "rule of the worst" or government by the least competent citizens.
(For more: Dictionary.com chose "
demure" this year, and Collins Dictionary went with "
brat.")
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uBlock 
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Ghostery 
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