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Words of the Year

2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

Editor Peter Sokolowski talks about 'surreal' and the rest of our Word of the Year 2016 selections


How did we choose surreal as our Word of the Year for 2016? Peter Sokolowski explains the data behind our decisions, and what that tells us about what people were thinking this year.

Don't miss our in-depth look at surreal and our gallery of top trending words from 2016.

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2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

 

How we chose 'surreal'

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Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

 

The awkward case of 'his or her'

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Is It 'Hanger' or 'Hangar'?

 

How to remember which is which

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Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

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Many of today's grammar rules can be traced to the opinions of one 18th century writer.

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