Society and Culture
2024 Words of the Year: A Reflection of Our Polarized World

Semiu Babatunde Ilori
As 2024 draws to a close, the world is marked by heightened tensions across social, political, economic, and religious fault lines. Amidst this backdrop, the annual tradition of selecting a "Word of the Year" offers a unique lens through which to examine the outgoing year. Dictionaries worldwide choose a word that encapsulates the year's essence, providing insight into emerging trends, societal concerns, and significant moments that captivated public interest and discourse. This article delves into the 2024 Words of the Year, exploring their reflections of growing polarization and divisions within our society.
Words of the Year from Famous Dictionaries
- Dictionary.com - "Demure"
Dictionary.com chose "demure" as its Word of the Year, highlighting a resurgence of interest in social decorum and public behavior. Traditionally, "demure" has implied shyness or modesty, but in 2024, its usage expanded to encapsulate a trend towards refined and sophisticated conduct, particularly in professional settings. The term saw a remarkable surge in usage in digital media, driven largely by social media influencers like Jools Lebron, who popularized the phrase "very demure, very mindful."
- Oxford University Press - "Brain Rot"
Oxford University Press named "brain rot" as its Word of the Year, emphasizing concerns about the degradation of intellectual capacity due to excessive consumption of low-quality online content. This term, seeing a 230% increase in usage from 2023 to 2024, captures the growing public discourse on the effects of digital media, particularly social platforms like TikTok, on cognitive health. "Brain rot" serves as both a critique and a humorous self-reflection on the impact of digital consumption, resonating with Gen Z and Gen Alpha who are navigating the digital landscape.
- Cambridge Dictionary - "Manifest"
"Manifest" was selected by the Cambridge Dictionary, showcasing a trend towards personal empowerment through visualization and affirmation. This word's meanings expanded from merely showing or making something evident to actively willing or bringing something into existence through mental focus. This reflects a cultural movement where individuals are increasingly turning to self-help practices to shape their lives, particularly in areas like career and personal achievement. The term's look-ups surged by 130,000, indicating a widespread interest in this psychological and spiritual practice. However, according to Dr Sander van der Linden, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge, the idea of ‘manifesting’ something into reality, however attractive it may seem, has no scientific basis.
- Collins Dictionary - "Brat"
Collins Dictionary's choice, "brat," traditionally used to describe a badly behaved child, took on new connotations in 2024, largely influenced by pop culture, specifically Charli XCX's album of the same name. It captured the spirit of the year by symbolizing a playful, rebellious attitude in contrast to more conventional behaviors. This selection points to a cultural moment where youth culture and music significantly influence language evolution, especially through platforms like X where "brat" became a viral term.
- Macquarie Dictionary - "Enshittification"
Macquarie Dictionary crowned "enshittification" as its Word of the Year, a term coined to describe the deliberate decline in quality of online services for profit. This reflects a growing critique of how digital platforms operate, focusing on user experience and consumer rights in the tech age. The word's usage spiked following discussions about streaming services and social media platforms, highlighting a public awakening to the commercial practices of tech giants.
- Merriam-Webster - "Polarization"
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year, 'polarization,' encapsulates the intensity of the current moment, reflecting a broader cultural, political, social, and religious divide. Polarization is defined as the division into two sharply distinct opposites, where opinions, beliefs, or interests become concentrated at opposing extremes. The outcome of various global elections in 2024 exemplified this phenomenon. According to Merriam-Webster's editor, Peter Sokolowski, this trend indicates that "we are tending toward the extremes rather than the centre."
- Turkish Language Authority - “Kalabalık Yalnızlığı” (Crowd loneliness)
Meanwhile, the Turkish Language Authority website chose "Crowd loneliness" as the 2024 Word of the Year, resonating with today's reality where groups exist in isolation amidst crowds. Seven words and concepts were presented for a public vote on the authority’s website. The options included "crowd loneliness," (kalabalık yalnızlığı) "mercy,"(merhamet) "alienation," (yabancılaşma) "algorithm," (algoritma) "corruption," (yozlaşma) "artificial intelligence," (yapay zekâ) and "digital fatigue." (dijital yorgunluk) Ultimately, "Crowd Loneliness" emerged as the "Word and Concept of the Year 2024," chosen by approximately one million participants.
Crowd Loneliness describes a phenomenon in which groups or individuals, despite their presence in crowds, feel alienated, lacking a sense of belonging, shared values, norms, or purpose in modern society. This echoes the prophecy of Prophet Muhammad (p), who said, "Islam began as something strange and will go back to being strange, so glad tidings to the strangers" (Sunan Ibn Majah 3986).
What Does These Words Tell Us?
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year, "polarization," accurately captures the reality of today's world, echoed by other dictionaries. Our world is indeed Polarized in nearly every aspect. Notably, the ongoing conflicts and atrocities in the Islamic world or the so called third world have not yielded a single word that resonated with the organisers of this annual event, despite the prevalence of related terms in daily discourse. From the Israel’s genocidal war to the instigated protests in many countries, which led to forced government changes and brink-of-collapse scenarios.
Undoubtedly, trends, popular discourses, and prevailing sentiments have often influenced the selection of these words. It is still vivid in memory how Merriam-Webster chose "they" as the Word of the Year in 2019, in solidarity with the LGBT movement, as an alternative to the traditional pronouns "she" and "he." Similarly, in 2020, most dictionaries featured words like "lockdown" and "pandemic," reflecting the year's defining events. However, to my knowledge, none dared to include "genocide," arguably one of the year's most significant tragedies.
Conclusively, the choice of words for 2024 reveals much about our societal priorities and biases. While terms like "Brain rot," "Manifest," "Demure," "Brat," and "Enshittification" are crucial, they also highlight how narratives can be constructed to either include or exclude. The sidelining of Muslim world issues in these discussions not only misrepresents global realities but also misses opportunities for a more comprehensive understanding of our interconnected world. As we move forward, our collective vocabulary must evolve to reflect a more inclusive and nuanced perspective on global challenges, giving due attention to all facets of the human experience, including those in Muslim communities.
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