For Words of the Year: Brat, Brain Rot, Polarization

01From brat to brain rot and polarization, word experts agree that social media and politics have driven conversations that use these terms.

02Here are their selections for Word of the Year.

03The American Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster selected polarization as its Word of the Year for 2024.

04The dictionary publisher defines polarization as division into two sharply distinct opposites, especially a state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society become concentrated at opposing extremes.

05As divided as Americans appear, Merriam-Webster says polarization happens to be one idea that both sides of the political spectrum agree on.

06The word was widely used in news stories and broadcasts to describe the presidential election in the United States.

07Supporters of both candidates, President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, voiced the opinion that the opposing candidate was a threat to the nation.

08The U.S.

09election also brought attention to two other words, pander and weird.

10Trump's supporters accused Harris of pandering, in other words, changing her policy positions to get votes.

11And Democratic vice presidential candidate, Tim Wolves, called his opponents weird, meaning strange or unusual.

12The editors at Britain's Oxford University Press say usage of its Word of the Year selection, brain rot, increased by 230% from 2023 to 2024.

13Oxford defines brain rot as the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material, now particularly online content, considered to be trivial or unchallenging.

14The phrase likely first appeared, in written form, in Henry David Thoreau's 1854 book, Walden, about his experiences living a simple lifestyle.

15He wrote, while England endeavors to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally.

16In 2024, the phrase has been used to describe concerns about the harm of overconsuming or watching and reading too much online material.

17Caspar Grathwaal, president of Oxford Languages, noted, I find it fascinating that the term brain rot has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to.

18Politics and social media come together in the Collins Dictionary's selection of brat as its Word of the Year.

19The most recent usage of brat started as the title of an album by pop singer Charlie XCX.

20Then it went viral as a campaign slogan, Kamala is brat, for the Democratic presidential candidate.

21The word means different things to different people.

22Traditionally, brat describes an immature person or an unruly child.

23But Collins says it is now used to describe a person with confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.

24Collins says the term brat has clearly captured something of the spirit of the age, and for a short time the word brat summer even established itself as an aesthetic and a way of life.

25The online dictionary.com selected demure as its Word of the Year for 2024.

26Between January and the end of August, Dictionary.com said the word saw a nearly 1,200% increase in usage in digital web media alone.

27The sharp rise is credited to several videos on TikTok by Jules LeBron.

28You see how I do my makeup for work, she asked.

29Very demure, very mindful.

30Demure is another example of how popular word usage changes over time.

31In the 14th century, demure was used to describe people who avoid bringing attention to themselves.

32Today, the word is used to describe someone who brings attention to themselves with refined and sophisticated appearance or behavior.

33And those are the words of the year for 2024.

34I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.