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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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play peter_talk_about_word_of_the_year_2016
2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

 

How we chose 'surreal'

play video title words of the year 1066
Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

play serial comma
The Serial Comma Explained

 

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

play cartoon-of-british-nobility
Why Did Yankee Doodle Call a Feather 'Macaroni'?

 

What's with his feathered cap?

play ismo merriam webster trunk boot
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

 

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

play semantic bleaching text on white background
What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

play alright allright video
Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.