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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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Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

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How to Remember 'Affect' and 'Effect'

 

A simple way to keep them apart. (Most of the time.)

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Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

 

The awkward case of 'his or her'

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Words of the Year: 1066

 

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Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary

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Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

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