"And the Word of the Year Is..." (2010-2019) Quiz

Answer: Austerity

'Austerity' refers to strict economic measures intended to reduce government deficits. In everyday use, it's essentially enforced frugality, belt-tightening, and a general tone of "sorry, we really can't afford this right now". The word usually shows up when spending is being cut not by choice but by necessity, and there's often a lot of groaning and protesting involved.

Austerity made it to the top of Merriam-Webster's list in 2010 during the European sovereign debt crisis. The Greek economy became a daily headline, even in far-flung places like the United States, where we prefer to have the focus on us. News reports were packed with talk of 'austerity measures', 'austerity budgets', and the public backlash against them, which was... I want to say, 'spirited'.

As an added bonus, the word traces back to the Greek 'austeros', meaning harsh or severe.

Answer: Pragmatic

Pragmatic describes an approach that is grounded in practical results rather than theory, ideals, or lofty abstractions. A pragmatic solution is one that works, even if it's not elegant, inspirational, or anyone's first choice. The word carries a faint whiff of compromise and a vague sense of rolling up your sleeves to get something done.

In 2011, 'pragmatic' hit the big time in the United States as political discussions heated up during debates over the federal budget and debt ceiling. You know, the usual stuff. The Budget Control Act was often described at the time as a pragmatic compromise rather than an ideal solution.

Answer: Socialism and Capitalism

The term 'socialism' has morphed somewhat over the years, but generally it refers to an economic system in which the means of production or key industries are owned or regulated collectively, often by the state. The emphasis is usually on reducing inequality.

Capitalism, by contrast, centers on private ownership, market competition, and profit as the driving force of economic activity. They're dictionary entries but also entire worldviews, complete with slogans, heroes, villains, and lots of history for each side to shout about.

In 2012, both words earned the top spot as Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year. It was that kind of presidential election, although it seems they all are. Accusations of socialism were flung around with abandon, while capitalism was defended, criticized, or rebranded depending on who was speaking and who was listening.

Answer: Science

Science refers to the systematic pursuit of knowledge through observation, experimentation, and testing of ideas against evidence for and against. It's less about certainty and more about tweaking explanations as new data rolls in. Provisional, self-correcting, complex, and often inconvenient, science is everything we hate in the United States.

Well, depending on whether it agrees with our views!

In 2013, science shot up Merriam-Websters lookup charts as it became a cultural and political flashpoint. Again. Debates over climate change, evolution, and what should or should not be taught in schools kept the word constantly circulating. Public figures alternately invoked science as an authority to defend policy and as something to be challenged or dismissed... often depending on the moment.

Answer: Culture

Culture is the shared beliefs, customs, behaviors, arts, social institutions, etc. of a particular group of people. It is a broad term and sometimes a slippery concept that can cover everything from language and religion to food, music, and social norms.

In 2014, 'culture' hit the ground running as it became a fixture of daily news and commentary. Phrases like 'culture wars', 'rape culture', 'corporate culture', and 'pop culture' all made headlines. The word was used to explain conflict, excuse behavior, assign blame, and frame identity. There's no word that can't be weaponized, overused, or stripped of all meaning when we put our minds to it.

Answer: --ism

The suffix -ism is used to form nouns that describe belief systems, movements, practices, behaviors, and a whole lot more. It turns abstract ideas into named things, often with a heavy load of ideology and connotations dragging along the ground behind them. Add three letters to the end of a word and suddenly you don't have an opinion or tendency, you have a capital-letter concept that humans can argue about for hours.

In 2015, isms dominated Merriam-Webster's list largely thanks to the news and the political discourse of the day.

Fascism
Socialism
Racism
Feminism
Communism
Capitalism
Terrorism

These all made the Top 10, as political tensions rose ahead of the 2016 election cycle and new events demanded more labels to fight over.

Answer: Surreal

'Surreal' is an adjective that describes something which feels unreal, dreamlike, or disconnected from ordinary experience. It carries with it a sense of disorientation. The vibe is that reality has slipped its leash and gone over to the neighbor's yard to take care of business.

In 2016, surreal made the list as Americans scrambled to describe a year that... was full of the unexpected. There were political shocks, including the US presidential election. Combine this with a regular stream of improbable news events, and well, things felt a bit surreal for many.

Answer: Feminism

Another ism, feminism is the novel idea that men and women should have political, economic, and social equality. It argues that gender should not determine rights or opportunities, though the word has accumulated lots of baggage over the years. While the concept is pretty basic, it's a term that gets misused often and is frequently weaponized by all sides.

In 2017, 'feminism' topped the list after a year of highly visible women's activism. The Women's Marches that followed the U.S. presidential inauguration brought millions into the streets worldwide. Meanwhile 'The Handmaid's Tale' provided a red-clad submissive figure with head bowed, onto which people projected their anxieties about reproductive rights and gender freedom. Workplace equity, representation, and harassment allegations were suddenly on everyone's lips wherever they went. And so was the word itself.

Answer: Justice

'Justice' refers to the principle of fairness rooted in law, ethics, and the idea that individuals should receive what they are due, and there's the rub. 'What they are due' is a rather subjective idea.

In 2018, interest in the word spiked on Merriam-Webster's site as it became the center of public conversation. There were questions about criminal justice reform, judicial independence, sexual assault allegations, immigration policy, and accountability at the highest levels of government, all of which dominated the headlines.

The Mueller probe alone kept legal terminology in constant circulation, while confirmation hearings and protests framed justice as something either in fine hands or under threat.

Answer: they

'They' is the third person plural pronoun traditionally used to refer to multiple people.

For a very long time now, however, it's been used in the singular to denote a person whose gender is unknown or unspecified, replacing 'he or she' in sentences like:

'What did he or she say when he or she saw that his or her wallet had been returned to him or her?'

Colloquially, we generally say:

'What did they say when they saw their wallet had been returned to them?'

So for centuries it's been used as a gender-neutral pronoun. But... well, the word has also been embraced as a singular pronoun by some nonbinary individuals as a way to refer to themselves. Small word, suddenly a heavy political load.

In 2019, awareness of gender identity increased and conversations about inclusive language became in vogue. High-profile discussions about pronoun use, workplace policies, schools, and public figures put the word in the spotlight to the delight of some, the outrage of others, while still others wondered what everyone else was getting so worked up about.