Merriam-Webster decides that 2016 was
a "surreal" year
By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 12.23.16
Word Count 869
This Saturday Dec. 17, 2016 photo shows the "surreal" entry in a Merriam-Webster's dictionary in New York. "Surreal" is
Merriam-Webster's word of 2016 based on spikes in lookups. Photo: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Was 2016 a dream or a nightmare? Try something in between:
"surreal."
"Surreal" is Merriam-Webster's word of the year, unveiled Monday.
Meaning "marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream," or "unbelievable, fantastic,"
the word joins Oxford's "post-truth" and Dictionary.com's "xenophobia" as the year's top
choices. "Xenophobia" is fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers. "Post-truth" means
relating to situations in which facts have less influence on public opinion than appeals to
personal belief.
"It just seems like one of those years," said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at
large.
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Lots Of Interest In The Word "Surreal" Throughout The Year
The company tracks year-over-year growth and spikes in lookups of words on its website
to get the top choice. This time around, there were many periods of interest in "surreal"
throughout the year, often after unfortunate events, Sokolowski said.
Major spikes came after the Brussels, Belgium, attack in March and again in July, after the
Bastille Day killings in Nice, France, and the attempted government overthrow in Turkey. All
three received huge attention around the globe. Many in the media used "surreal" to
describe both the physical scenes and the "mental landscapes," Sokolowski said.
The single biggest spike in lookups came in November, he said, specifically November 9,
the day Donald Trump went from candidate to president-elect.
News Events And Celebrity Deaths Cause Spikes
There were also smaller spikes, including after the death of singer-musician Prince in April
at age 57. Another followed the June shootings at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Another bump came after the March death of Garry Shandling. His first sitcom, "It's Garry
Shandling's Show," began on Showtime in 1986 and had him speaking directly to the
audience and mimicking his real life as a stand-up comic, but one who knew he was
starring in a TV show.
"It was surreal and it's connected to the actual original meaning of surreal," Sokolowski
said. It comes from Surrealism, the artistic movement of the early 20th century, he said.
How The Word Came Into Existence
"Surreal" didn't exist as a word until around 1924, after a group of European poets, painters
and filmmakers founded a movement they called Surrealism. They sought to tap into the
truths of the unconscious mind by breaking down logical thought.
It wasn't until 1937 that "surreal" began to exist on its own, said Sokolowski.
Merriam-Webster first started tracking patterns in 1996, when the dictionary landed online.
In 2001, after the 9/11 terror attacks, the Springfield, Massachusetts-based company
noticed plenty of spikes in word lookups. The most enduring spike was for "surreal,"
pointing to a broader meaning and greater use, Sokolowski said.
"We noticed the same thing after the Newtown shootings, after the Boston Marathon
bombings, after Robin Williams' suicide," he said. "Surreal has become this sort of word
that people seek in moments of great shock."
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Word people like Sokolowski can't pinpoint why individuals look words up online, but they
know it's not only to check spellings or definitions. Right after 9/11, words that included
"rubble" and "triage" spiked, he said. A couple days after that, more political words took
over in relation to the attacks, including "jingoism" and "terrorism."
"But then we finally hit 'surreal,' so we had a concrete response, a political response and
finally a philosophical response," Sokolowski said. "That's what connects all these tragic
events."
Other Popular Words In 2016
Other top words for Merriam-Webster in 2016 due to spikes in lookups:
BIGLY: Yes, it's a word but a rare and outdated form of "big," dating to around 1400,
Sokolowski said. It made its way into the group conversation thanks to Trump, who was
fond of using "big league" as an adverb but making it sound like bigly.
DEPLORABLE: Thank you, Hillary Clinton for calling Trump supporters this, though you
incorrectly used this adjective as a noun.
IRREGARDLESS: It's considered a "nonstandard" word for regardless. It's best avoided,
Sokolowski said. Irregardless was used during the calling of the last game of the World
Series and its use was criticized on social media, he said.
ICON: This spike came after Prince's April 21 death, along with surreal. "It was just a
moment of public mourning, the likes of which really happen very seldom," Sokolowski
said.
ASSUMPSIT: The word got attention at the Democratic National Convention. Elizabeth
Warren, U.S. senator for Massachusetts, was introduced by one her former law students at
Harvard, Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts. He described how on
his first day she asked him for the definition of assumpsit and he didn't know.
"She said, 'Mr. Kennedy, do you own a dictionary?' so everybody looked it up," Sokolowski
laughed.
It's a legal term with Latin roots for a type of suggested contract. Kennedy didn't define it
when he told the story.
REVENANT: Leonardo DiCaprio played one in a movie of the same name, sending people
scurrying to the dictionary. It describes "one that returns after death or a long absence." It
can be traced to the 1820s and while it sounds biblical, it is not, Sokolowski said.
FECKLESS: It's how Vice President-elect Mike Pence described President Barack
Obama's foreign policy when he debated Democrat Tim Kaine. It means weak or
worthless.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
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Quiz
1
2
3
Which sentence from the article suggests that "surreal" can be used to talk about actual events
as well as the way people think about them?
(A)
Meaning "marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream," or
"unbelievable, fantastic," the word joins Oxford's "post-truth" and
Dictionary.com's "xenophobia" as the year's top choices.
(B)
Many in the media used "surreal" to describe both the physical scenes and
the "mental landscapes," Sokolowski said.
(C)
"It was surreal and it's connected to the actual original meaning of surreal,"
Sokolowski said.
(D)
"Surreal" didn't exist as a word until around 1924, after a group of European
poets, painters and filmmakers founded a movement they called Surrealism.
Which section of the article BEST explains the reason "surreal" is often used to describe
shocking events?
(A)
the introduction [paragraphs 1-4]
(B)
"Lots Of Interest In The Word Surreal Throughout The Year"
(C)
"News Events And Celebrity Deaths Cause Spikes"
(D)
"How The Word Came Into Existence"
Peter Sokolowski would be MOST likely to agree with which of the following statements?
(A)
The most common reason people look up words on the Merriam-Webster
website is because they do not know how to spell them or know the
meanings.
(B)
There are many reasons why people become interested in certain words, but
they are usually related to things that are happening in the world.
(C)
Merriam-Webster's choice for word of the year has nothing in common with
the words of the year chosen by other prominent online dictionaries.
(D)
Major spikes in searches for certain words happened after negative world
events this year, but they do not usually follow any obvious kind of pattern.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
4
4
How does the article develop the idea that different forms of media have an impact on the
words people look up?
(A)
by explaining that word lookups were uncommon before the invention of the
Internet and Twitter
(B)
by describing the link between the word of the year for 2016 and the
Surrealist movement in the 1920s
(C)
by noting spikes in word lookups following their use by famous people and
after newsworthy events
(D)
by suggesting that different media companies often agree on the best words
to use to describe events
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
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Answer Key
1
2
3
Which sentence from the article suggests that "surreal" can be used to talk about actual events
as well as the way people think about them?
(A)
Meaning "marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream," or
"unbelievable, fantastic," the word joins Oxford's "post-truth" and
Dictionary.com's "xenophobia" as the year's top choices.
(B)
Many in the media used "surreal" to describe both the physical scenes
and the "mental landscapes," Sokolowski said.
(C)
"It was surreal and it's connected to the actual original meaning of surreal,"
Sokolowski said.
(D)
"Surreal" didn't exist as a word until around 1924, after a group of European
poets, painters and filmmakers founded a movement they called Surrealism.
Which section of the article BEST explains the reason "surreal" is often used to describe
shocking events?
(A)
the introduction [paragraphs 1-4]
(B)
"Lots Of Interest In The Word Surreal Throughout The Year"
(C)
"News Events And Celebrity Deaths Cause Spikes"
(D)
"How The Word Came Into Existence"
Peter Sokolowski would be MOST likely to agree with which of the following statements?
(A)
The most common reason people look up words on the Merriam-Webster
website is because they do not know how to spell them or know the
meanings.
(B)
There are many reasons why people become interested in certain
words, but they are usually related to things that are happening in the
world.
(C)
Merriam-Webster's choice for word of the year has nothing in common with
the words of the year chosen by other prominent online dictionaries.
(D)
Major spikes in searches for certain words happened after negative world
events this year, but they do not usually follow any obvious kind of pattern.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
6
4
How does the article develop the idea that different forms of media have an impact on the
words people look up?
(A)
by explaining that word lookups were uncommon before the invention of the
Internet and Twitter
(B)
by describing the link between the word of the year for 2016 and the
Surrealist movement in the 1920s
(C)
by noting spikes in word lookups following their use by famous people
and after newsworthy events
(D)
by suggesting that different media companies often agree on the best words
to use to describe events
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
7