2022 Words of the Year

By the edhat staff

Esteemed dictionaries have revealed their top words of the year for 2022 and they are all over the place.

We can’t make sense of a theme between them, but maybe you can!

Here’s the top words of the year:

Gaslighting

Merriam-Webster has identified their word of the year as: Gaslighting.

Gaslighting is defined as “the act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage.” The dictionary states they saw a 1740% increase in lookups for gaslighting, with high interest throughout the year.

The term comes from the title of a 1938 play and the movie based on that play, the plot of which involves a man attempting to make his wife believe that she is going insane. His mysterious activities in the attic cause the house’s gas lights to dim, but he insists to his wife that the lights are not dimming and that she can’t trust her own perceptions.

But in recent years, the meaning of gaslighting has been used to mean something simpler and broader similar to deception and manipulation, such as fake news, deepfake, and artificial intelligence.

“The idea of a deliberate conspiracy to mislead has made gaslighting useful in describing lies that are part of a larger plan. Unlike lying, which tends to be between individuals, and fraud, which tends to involve organizations, gaslighting applies in both personal and political contexts,” the dictionary states.

gaslighting [ˈgas-ˌlī-tiŋ ] noun.
1. psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator

Woman

Dictionary.com has defined the 2022 Word of the Year as: Woman.

This year, searches for the word woman on Dictionary.com spiked significantly in relation to separate high-profile events.

“Our selection of woman as our 2022 Word of the Year reflects how the intersection of gender, identity, and language dominates the current cultural conversation and shapes much of our work as a dictionary,” the website states.

During the height of the lookups for woman on Dictionary.com in 2022, searches for the word increased more than 1,400%. Subsequent spikes eventually resulted in double the typical annual search volume for the word.

Specific women also dominated the news cycle this year, the death of Queen Elizabeth II captured the world’s attention. As did the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of the Iranian government’s so-called morality police, sparking outrage and a protest movement that has been primarily led by women. 

woman [ woom–uhn ] noun.
1. an adult female person.

Homer

The Cambridge Dictionary has announced “homer” as its word of the year.

The informal American English term for a home run in baseball has apparently left non-American players of Wordle feeling confused and frustrated. According to the U.K. dictionary, Wordle players flooded their website to try and understand its meaning. 

homer [ˈhoʊ.mɚ] noun.
1. short for home run : a point scored in baseball when you hit the ball, usually out of the playing field, and are able to run around all the bases at one time to the starting base

Goblin mode

The Oxford Dictionary has chosen the slang term of “goblin mode” as its word of the year.

‘Goblin mode’ – a slang term, often used in the expressions ‘in goblin mode’ or ‘to go goblin mode’ – is ‘a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.’

“Although first seen on Twitter in 2009, goblin mode went viral on social media in February 2022, quickly making its way into newspapers and magazines after being tweeted in a mocked-up headline. The term then rose in popularity over the months following as Covid lockdown restrictions eased in many countries and people ventured out of their homes more regularly. Seemingly, it captured the prevailing mood of individuals who rejected the idea of returning to ‘normal life’, or rebelled against the increasingly unattainable aesthetic standards and unsustainable lifestyles exhibited on social media,” according to Oxford Dictionary.