And Oxford’s Word of the Year Award Goes to…“Post-truth”
Should anyone be surprised?
Oxford Dictionaries annually picks a ‘word of the year’ to capture the cultural zeitgeist of the past twelve months. And on Wednesday, Oxford officially announced 2016’s prize goes to “post-truth,” which, for anyone following minor events like the U.S. presidential elections or the Brexit debacle, may not come as a surprise.
“Post-truth has gone from being a peripheral term to being a mainstay in political commentary,” Oxford wrote in a post announcing its decision. Oxford defines its newly-awarded word as one “‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Sound familiar?
Post-truth beat out a few other frontrunners in the lexical competition, including “alt-right,” “Brexiteer,” “woke,” and “adulting.”
Oxford Dictionaries annually picks a ‘word of the year’ to capture the cultural zeitgeist of the past twelve months. And on Wednesday, Oxford officially announced 2016’s prize goes to “post-truth,” which, for anyone following minor events like the U.S. presidential elections or the Brexit debacle, may not come as a surprise.
“Post-truth has gone from being a peripheral term to being a mainstay in political commentary,” Oxford wrote in a post announcing its decision. Oxford defines its newly-awarded word as one “‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Sound familiar?
Post-truth beat out a few other frontrunners in the lexical competition, including “alt-right,” “Brexiteer,” “woke,” and “adulting.”
But Foreign Policy thinks Oxford overlooked a few potential prize contenders. So we humbly put forward our own words that deserve honorary mention:
Duterte’d: verb. To turn down an invitation to meet after the meeting host insults you in a press conference.
Swatch: noun. A small sample of fabrics, or a 1980s wristwatch fad. Or, apparently to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, some unspecified territory in Syria. We would have said “swath.”
Sarcasm: noun. A Western imperialist rhetorical weapon meant to subvert and ultimately destroy glorious leader of the proletariats Kim Jong-un.
Water: noun. The Brazilian government’s official term for a sewage-like substance found off the shores of Olympic host cities.
Poodle: noun. The highest-ranked breed of dog in Thailand’s military.
Bigly: adjective. …We’re still not sure.
Blatter-ing: verb. The act of telling everyone how to fix a tarnished international institution…after tarnishing said institution.
Diego: verb. The act of single-handedly saving one’s species from extinction with a lot of, um, friends with benefits.
Poem: noun. A politically-charged composition of verse that could prompt lawsuits from Turkey’s president. See also entry for: Gollum.
Czechia: noun. An instance in which one tries to make a catchy new phrase go viral, and it just really doesn’t work.
Mountain: noun. An extravagant gift, typically given by close friends on important birthdays or anniversaries.
Yelp: noun. An online platform for citizens to voice their thoughts on international diplomacy.
Africa: noun. A country, according to Britain’s foreign secretary Boris Johnson.
2016-ing: verb. To feel intense stress and helplessness as you watch everything inexplicably go horribly, horribly wrong around you.
Photo credit: FRED TANNEAU/AFP/Getty Images
Robbie Gramer is a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @RobbieGramer
More from Foreign Policy
Lessons for the Next War
Twelve experts weigh in on how to prevent, deter, and—if necessary—fight the next conflict.
It’s High Time to Prepare for Russia’s Collapse
Not planning for the possibility of disintegration betrays a dangerous lack of imagination.
Turkey Is Sending Cold War-Era Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
The artillery-fired cluster munitions could be lethal to Russian troops—and Ukrainian civilians.
Congrats, You’re a Member of Congress. Now Listen Up.
Some brief foreign-policy advice for the newest members of the U.S. legislature.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
