In 2015, Dictionary.com saw a number of themes emerge in the words that gained enough traction to be added to the dictionary along with words that trended in user lookups. The most prominent theme across both of these areas was in the expanding and increasingly fluid nature of conversations about gender and sexuality. Additionally, the theme of racial identity led to some of the most notable headlines and new additions to Dictionary.com this year. Encapsulating the most robust fields of language evolution and user interest this year, Dictionary.com’s 2015 Word of the Year is identity.
This week, Dictionary.com has updated a handful of terms to reflect the new ways that people are speaking about the concept of identity explicitly. These include a new sense at the word identify to account for the common construction identify as and the addition of the term gender expression, defined as “the external expression of gender roles, as through socially defined behaviors and ways of dressing.” Further edits were made to the entry code-switching. Originally a linguistic term, code-switching has expanded in meaning in the recent past to encompass all aspects of identity beyond just language or manner of speech. The sociolinguistic definition is “the use of one dialect, register, accent, or language variety over another to project a specific identity.” The less technical sense is “the modifying of one’s behavior, appearance, etc., to adapt to different sociocultural norms.” Over the last few years, code-switching has emerged as important terminology for framing our multi-faceted identities.
This year was marked with high-profile events that shaped the cultural conversation around gender identity. In January, Transparent, a scripted series about the patriarch of a family coming out as a trans woman, won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series; in June, Caitlyn Jenner appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, and in July the Pentagon announced its decision to allow transgender people to serve openly in the military. Conversations around whether transgender students should be allowed to attend all-women’s colleges came to a head with new policies introduced by schools including Smith, Barnard, and Wellesley, which officially opened admission to trans women for the first time this year.
As new paradigms of gender and sexual identity enter the mainstream, so, too, do new linguistic constructs to discuss them. Increased awareness and openness in discussing gender identity ushers in language-related questions: What is a person’s preferred pronoun? Is it grammatical to use they to refer to a person who falls outside the gender binary? What honorific do you use to show respect to a person who doesn’t identify as Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms.? Dictionary.com added a handful of terms throughout the year that reflect this shifting landscape, including the adjectives agender, bigender, gender-fluid, and the gender-neutral prefix Mx. Additionally, we saw lookups for transgender and cisgender surge throughout the year.
The US Supreme Court’s historic ruling in June that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right provided an important benchmark in the evolution of the word marriage. As the term has grown to become more inclusive, Dictionary.com has closely tracked these shifts and its associated definition. Many of the related words that we use to talk about marriage, such as husband, wife, partner, fiancé(e), have experienced nuanced meaning shifts over the last several years in light of both same-sex marriages and increased awareness of nonbinary gender roles.
Celebrities and films propelled terms around sexual identity into the spotlight this year, causing a wave of interest on Dictionary.com: in the days following Miley Cyrus’s acknowledgement in Elle that she identifies as pansexual, we saw lookups for that term soar. The February premiere of the movie Fifty Shades of Grey contributed to a sustained interest in related words on Dictionary.com, but lookups spiked for terms beyond those launched into popular culture by Christian Grey: demisexual, omnisexual, and asexual all trended in lookups this year. Dictionary.com added the word sapiosexual this year, defined as “a person who finds intelligence to be a sexually attractive quality in others.”
Beyond gender and sexuality, the theme of racial identity was much discussed in 2015. A little over a week before the US Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage, the nation was absorbed in the story of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman presenting herself as a black woman. She had been serving as an NAACP chapter president, and she told the press that she had been identified as biracial or transracial throughout her life. This sparked a wave of debate on social media and in news outlets, with some inviting comparisons between racial identity and gender identity.
Also this year, developments in nonverbal communication engendered conversations about identity. For the first time, the Unicode Consortium allowed users to text emoji in a wide spectrum of skin and hair color. Before 2015, faces and hand-signal emoji, for the most part, fell into the limiting scope of one-race-fits-all.
This past May, Dictionary.com added the term microaggression, meaning “a subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a minority or other nondominant group that is often unintentional or unconsciously reinforces a stereotype.” The term microaggression was used by some outlets to describe an incident in which Anthony Horowitz, the author of the latest James Bond book, called actor Idris Elba “too street” to play James Bond.
As captured in the title of a New York Times Magazine article from October, 2015 was “The Year We Obsessed Over Identity.” Wesley Morris observes, “Gender roles are merging. Races are being shed. In the last six years or so, but especially in 2015, we’ve been made to see how trans and bi and poly-ambi-omni- we are.” This rings true on both a cultural level and on a linguistic level. No doubt, terms relating to identity will continue to be a theme that lexicographers at Dictionary.com closely monitor in 2016.
Did you encounter or look up any interesting identity-related terms in 2015? Can you think of any other news stories from the year that relate to the theme of identity?
199 Comments
Identity is a nice word
just random
lolz
gggdgdgdgdgdgdgdggdgdgdgdgdgdgdgdgdgdgdggdgdgdgdgdgdggdgdgdgdgdgdgdggdggdgd
b
Wow, an actual word!! I’m proud of you, dictionary.com
Flop !! Totally Flop !!
what the heck is flop?
whats flop (Mansoor) lmao
WUZ FLOP?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Thanks Tumblr.
But most of you HAVE NO identity. You copy others and emulate their style. Constantly. Your TV and your peers tell you who you need to be and you do not rebel for fear of being an outcast.
YES.
Who exactly are you talking to?
What the?!
Preach deadeye
Identity is a great word. Let’s hope white people discover its meaning before they are wiped off the planet entirely.
RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absurd. The WotY should have been “absurd,” “absurdly,” “absurdity,” or any other form of it. Example: “This whole tired conversation about ‘identity’ has fallen deep into a pit of absurdity.” ~me
Oh well, I have a feeling it will be high in the running for the Word of the Year in 2016.
“Identity”? Seriously? I mean, really, seriously? Out of all the words that have some “umph” to them, and some application, it’s “identity” ? Wow, just double WOW WOW!
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
no
You are not Marcus Butler lol
In a year in which the world has been at best in flux, at worst in upheaval, calling into question what we are as human beings and where we’re headed, an excellent choice.
gggdgdgdgdgdgdgdggdgdgdgdgdgdgdgdgdgdgdggdgdgdgdgdgdggdgdgdgdgdgdgdggdggdgd
Spirituality »»» Is it outside? Inside? Does it exist? Whatever it is – Let us use it to climb out of the abyss !!
points of view
lets do end the year with a smile in our hearts.
ur so ugly shutup noob
ya thts right shutup noob is right u should shutup noob
preach the word sister regmie25! preach!
My favourite word is still the same, however, it is not used too much and is an adjective which describes the female sex – Voluptuous
I feel obligated to use it and to like it because it sounds sexy and feels scarce.
Now that I look at and think about it; it describes the woman’s beauty and desirability, almost as if she were an ornament; objectifying her. Still I can’t help to use it.
– Bryan Hilt
choose a better moe interesting word next time. this sis used in everyday life.quite truly it is a rubbish word
I’m disappointed. Yet another institution of the soft sciences has chosen to press an agenda. Its a shame to see such people twisting our language instead of enriching it. To claim to mandate equal treatment and change social opinion, only to feed the hate and discord of minorities.
If it has not been said before, let me be the first: There are none so intolerant as those who demand tolerance.
-Eric Kinder
Eric, will you elaborate your positions further? To guide that process: How deep is your disappointment? Your thoughts on why you feel disappointed? What is the agenda being pressed? Can you explain / differentiate you meaning of “enriching” above? Twisted carries an interesting definition, can you describe how the content above is suggestive of abnormality? How is the content above “[feeding] the hate and discord of minorities?” Which minorities were you referring to?
In light of the generally accepted belief that language is ever-evolving, and is therefore not subject to a normal condition, how can language even be compared, other than with respect to the viewer’s personal beliefs and biases?
Z
Wait… who is the soft sciences pushing an agenda here? linguists? Gender theorists? Minorities?
How is language twisted here? Because words are given new meanings? Language evolves. And just what do you mean by enriching language, if not language’s evolution to keep pace with society’s changing ideas?
Who is claiming to mandate here? the institution of soft science? And… how does growing complexity of a person’s identity feed the “hate and discord” of minorities?
And… what do you mean by “hate and discord” in the first place? Do you mean privileged people’s hate of minorities, or vice-versa? Or are you just whining that you have to hear about the problems of people who aren’t like you?
You’re not the first one to say it. And you’re not the first person to be wrong in doing so, either.
You are so right Eric. This got me, “The sociolinguistic definition is “the use of one dialect, register, accent, or language variety over another to project a specific identity.” I feel like a million bucks; but i’m not. i feel like im 20, call myself a queen; but i’m not. I may feel a certain way but I acknowledge who I truly am-a person/female human. Be you; you are who you are. there maybe exceptions/intersex but ppl pls. I would be pleased to have been born male. I’m just as pleased being female. you/in general misconstrue and want us to tell/teach ourselves to do the same. NO.
dic.com stop misleading ppl to further a dysfunctional, destructive societal agenda ignoring real ones.
It is always those who preach tolerance and claim tolerance and curse others for having no tolerance that are the absolute most intolerant of all.
Well said, Eric! Well said.
So glad to hear at least one other voice that pushes back against the PC police.
Eric Kinder-
It has been said to mostly intolerant deaf ears, but I will see your liberal and raise you one.
“There are none so intolerant as those who demand tolerance”.
I can hear them now.
“YYOOOOUUUUU CAAAAAN’N'N’N'TTTTT SSSAAAAAAYYYYYYY TTTTTHHHHAATTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”.
why not use words everyone gets embarrassed about like pvajaina
Tyler the Tiller – I think the words which are to be recognised as ‘The Best Word this week’ and/or ‘The Best Word this year’ would most probably be adverb and/or adjective words. As you can see; your word is comprised of none of these, but instead a noun.
Hopefully, to your satisfaction though; I declare that you can use these ‘embarrassing words’ when and where you please. However there are limits, times and places, or depending on the environment and habitat in which you live; not forgetting your personal ambitions and goals to use these words.
I don’t think personally, that genitalia would especially fit the subject or article of this website; I am only a pawn in an enigma of sorts.
You are only able to win, if you play. -
mkeka should be the word…mainly because this website does not have it I FOUND A WORD THAT DICTIONARY.COM DOES NOT KNOW OF I’M SO MART!!! (brain fart) what happened DERP DERPIDY DERP DERP DERP DERPY DERPY DERP weee
Cunfuzled should be a word. It means confused, and my whole school uses it.
I accidentally said one a few months ago and now my whole family is using it. It’s “SURMAZED”, a combination of amazed and surprised. Catch myself using it a lot also. For insance, in a sentence, ” I was surmazed they would do that for me on my birthday!”
my identity????
It’s too bad the word for the year isn’t EMPATHY. So many people here have none!
totaly
I like “apathy” even better as that is the overall general attitude of the populace these days. Half have their heads in the sand, and the other half are apathetic!
well it is a dictionary website. its like a library but online and instead of books its words
You’re on a site that’s actually *called* “dictionary.com” and you still can’t spell?
Agreed
I agree!
MJ Madrid,
Do you mean so many people here-as on dictionary.com have no empathy, or so many people here- as in the US, have no empathy or do you mean the whole world has no empathy.
Funny, the more empathy you have, the more you will see it in the acts of others.
that is the best word that i use all the time with my friends cause there other friends steal there idententy and i try to tell them not to do that any more.
derp derp derpidy derp derp de de derp de derp DERP
Ddddddeeeeeeerrrrrrrppppppp
Dddeeerrrrpp
Deep in the derp
what the word DERP DERPIDY DERP DERP DE DERP DE DERP DERPIDY DERPSSSSSSSSSS DERP
Another identity nomenclature which I read about two years ago was used in reply to an online newspaper article.
MisSteer. MisSteer is the boyfriend of one of the spouses in a male gender couple. One of the two men as a couple was secretly seeing another man that he referred to as his MisSteer.
Nice choice for word of the day but I was expecting something other then ‘idendity’ because who uses that word often? (No afense to who does.)
This is stupid noticing that there are only two genders. if you have the parts and sex cells of a boy you are a boy, and vice versa with a girl. just because you look like the other gender doesn’t mean you are that gender the only thing that matters is the sex cell you have. also, kaitlyn jenner is an excuse for a person and is just… stupid.
_John Cena Meme Master.
I hate to be picky (irony) but I think you have the wrong Latin expression in ‘vice versa with.’
I suspect that you mean ‘mutatis mutandis for.’
That on one side, your understanding of human biology is just… wrong.
I mean, limited by your preconceptions.
You have far too much education. Perhaps you should consider working as a stand up comedian, or is it comedienne?
Now that you mention that, why say “stand up comedians”? Is there such a thing as a “sit down comedian?” I have never seen one. Another waste of words, like “he was limping noticeably”. Is there such as thing as non-noticeable limping?
Actually, scientists have found that gender is completely different and separate from genitalia and sex cells or chromosomes. There seems to be a part in the brain that determines our gender, and when we are born, that part does not have any information, so it is blank. As we develop, that part of the brain develops with us, eventually giving us the gender we are. Since each of us develops a different way, that leads us to logically conclude that there are more than two genders. Sex and gender are two different things, and it is perfectly fine to have a sex and a gender that do not coincide with each other. It is quite literally how we are born and how we develop that determines it.
unactually
Yes, you’re making the claim that gender is 100% cultural. No that couldn’t be further from the truth. You can make fairly accurate predictions what toy a 1 day old baby will go for, if you only know its biological sex.
The same thing goes for 1 year old chimps, with boy chimps liking similar toys as our sons do, and girl chimps liking similar toys as our girls do.
But let’s humor your idea that we are blank slates when it comes to gender when we are born: do you have any research to support that position or is it merely an assumption?
No. You are wrong. Your genitalia do not decide who you are. I am COMPLETELY in awe of your 3rd Grade understanding of biology and any modernized and liberal thinking. Your oppressive mindset is a disgrace to the human race and all the cultural freedoms we have striven for all these years.
LOL Hahha HAHA Aron is a fat noob AND RATCHET!!!!! XD :3 HAHA PEACE!!!!!!
You’re really reducing people down to the sex cells they have? So are people with XXY chromosomes just… not people to you? Not to mention the fact that you don’t even know what you are talking about. Transgenderism is the quality of identifying as a gender other than that you were assigned at birth. It has roughly nothing to do with what you look like. In fact, people associating gender with what a person looks like is a big problem facing transgender people. So, in general, try improving.
There ARE just two genders. People have lost their minds. Be thankful and stop wishing to be the opposite of what you are. You are created a boy or a girl for a reason. Accept it.
Anti-christ cause people should know what\who not to follow.
God is the only god and will give us eternal life, but only through Jesus Christ
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep religion out of this.
Yes God is the only God there is
AMEN
amen bless Christ he showed us the most beautiful act of human love dying on the cross for us SAY AMEN IF U AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!
THE RELIGION OF ME IS SCIENCE
SCIENTOLOGY?
RECENT.
The word of the year should be recent
While some people may disagree with this choice of word, I really do love it. It’s nice to know that people are advancing in accepting other’s identities and making an effort to understand. This is a huge advance to acceptance. While there are a bunch of other fun and intresting words, this one I find is more for comfort and acceptance which is great as many people often feel rejected by society, thank you.
I am assuming that there are laws for a reason, and I am also assuming that when people react in a similar fashion to each other, it is because there is a perfectly plausible reason.
I don’t mean to debate, but instead fairly discuss; If everyone had the choice to be free, completely free – not liberal, there, most probably would lurk a nice amount of chaos, not to mention what would go on behind closed doors, if any.
I don’t think that everyone would be doing strange irrational things, but there would be a fair few. After all, right now people are doing irrational things to themselves, and there are some weird and ‘whacky’ trends going on, and we have laws and regulations. Just think how interestingly wonderful it would be if everyone could do as they pleased… I myself would probably become a vigilante or an obscure turtle of some sort and just hide away for all of my years; burrowing underground like a mole.
___
;ø¬ø;
˚ ———–Still here… Mining away.
Great blog!
thoroughly disappointing…
Ignore the large number of muppets above! I was also underwhelmed at the choice until I read the post. You’re right — whilst identity has been the theme of humanity for countless years, 2015 certainly broadened the ‘identity vocabulary’ of the masses in a way we (or at least I) haven’t encountered before. Great article, great choice of word!
Nice choice for ‘Word of the Year’! Yes, ‘identity’ is a popular topic recently, especially in regards to one’s individual gender identity. But how about our identity on a grander scale? So, much more than identity being a popular subject, it begs the questions, “What is my true identity? and, “How can I know it?”
Rather than simply give my opinion – which we know there are more opinions than there are people! – I look to what has shown to be an authoritative source and can simply testify if my life experience confirms or denies what it suggests.
With over 22,000 manuscripts found in different locations dating back about 3,500 years, comprising over 40 different authors over about 1,400 years(that agree and testify about the same God and Creator of all), and containing over 1,800 prophesies(specific statements about distinct future events) that have thus far all happened when and just as they were foretold they would(with some still to come), along with historical accounts of persons, places, and events that are documented in historical records throughout the world, as well as artifacts and places we can visit, see, and touch today – the Word of God, called the Bible, or Holy Scriptures, gives us all some very simple, clear, and unmistakable answers about our identity.
Besides the answers to our individual and corporate identity, we are given in the Bible so very many more answers about the big picture of life and creation, our purpose and future, right and wrong, good and evil, truth and lies, short term pleasure with long term pain verses short term sacrifice with rewards forever, living faith beyond our power, and divine love beyond our comprehension, …!
And yes, the book about the loving creator of everything that is, the one true and living God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ whom was sent as God in the flesh as the Savior of all the world – which I have now personally been acquainted with for over twenty years – has proven true to everything I have experienced in life, as the Word has and will for every person who genuinely seeks absolute truth and reality, rather than the subjective opinions and personal feelings of mankind.
~His grace and peace to you.
Whose grace? Tryin to front me the grace, I don’t even want the grace
Christians? Amen to ya!!!!!!
Thanks, Vince, for sharing and pointing out that if any are willing to surrender and accept His gift of adoption, then there will never be any confusion as to each person’s true identity. “Mx.” may just be an appropriate prefix or abbreviation for those who are confused or yet uncertain of their identity. May the God of all wisdom, truth, peace and love reveal Himself to those who desire to know and understand.
This is disgusting but I have to admit it’s preeeetty accurate. Thanks, 2015. s i g h
why
iiiiiiiiiiiiiddddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnttttttttiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttyyyyyyyyyyy
Yes, why???
Is there no need to stand for something ? Like a leaf in the wind, no matter the moral direction, we’re not here to stand for something, just pave the way for all to hasten their journey to perdition using language, improving the vernacular for destruction ? What a bunch of swell fello’s and fellerette’s.
{ you could fit that right into one of those bizzarro definition’s ! }
As we stand within 24 months of the 100th anniversary of the miracle of Fatima, October 13th, 1917, know that date will forever be etched in your soul, if not now, then after. God, The Almighty is ready for your change of heart, yes, we all need improving !!! Let’s get busy doing it !! Thank you for reading !!
YAY
I’m proud of you guys!
In my opinion, “identity” is an extreme understatement of this year. I’m quite disappointed because of all the other once in a lifetime events were not taken into account. In addition, “transgender” is not relatively new in contrast with other events.
The word “identity” makes me wonder who I really am
meaning of course, what gender am I? lmaooooo
“Identity” means a lot in the dictionary but it means much, much more in peoples minds. Identity is basically everything about you.This is a good word choice.
Why did you choose identity? I can kinda see it, but it such a bland word especially for a 7th grader like me!
This was the stupidest thing EVER!!!!!!!!!!
I hate dictionary.com i’m just on here because my teacher made the whole class look up the word of the year.
Informative, interesting article. Well done Dictionary.com.
Why is identity the word of the year? We have words like supercalifrigilisticexpiallidocous, and they picked IDENITY?
NO KIDDING, DICTIONARY.COM ONLY EXISTS IN MY LIFE BECAUSE OF MY TEACHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought it was going to be pneumoninultramicroscpoicsillicovolcanoasis
identity wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am suprisd ov ul de wods in de inglish langage, it is identity
What?
Screw Caitlyn Jenner
This is awesome! The moment I saw what the word was, I let out an involuntary, “Aww.” Because “identity,” does mean a lot to me in particular, as well as a lot of my friends and even acquaintances I’ve met this year. I read a few comments which had responded with backlash, accusing Dictionary.com as merely trying to take the side of that which is most popular, but with statements like the ones made above, it’s difficult for me to be anything but proud of Dictionary.com. Whether or not “…dictionaries must jump in with the left-wing ride,” I think as a dictionary, as a conglomeration of all words in and out of use, it’s not as much the dictionary’s choice to remain inclusive, but instead us, as a culture, as humans, who shape how our language evolves.
In other words, don’t be mad at Dictionary.com for changing along with the rest of the world. Perhaps you should take a moment to look around yourself and notice that the culture is shifting. It’s not a dictionary’s job to change the world, just to write it down.
Really Identity
wow of all the word that wow
The word definitely does capture the main theme throughout 2015. From political to religious to social it really is all about identity. Thanks for the post.
You do know someone put stuff like threadbare and uxorious and you choose identity? Sorry but I’m gonna have to quit
Kids and Adults-1
Dictionary.com-0
Listen bub.Your upsetting a lot of people. You better get your act together.
Please just make the people happy
Why’d you do it now anyway? There is a couple words left…
SQUISH! That word is intersting!
This is really cool! I’m really loving your choice of word and acceptance!
lame-o!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love the word❣
I really like using this site for my English! And merry Christmas!
Check out my new album “X” on iTunes!
AWSOME I TOTALTY AGREE
A very lame choice.
whhhhhaaa???…
Really? Of all the words you could choose you choose identity?
Did you read the paragraph below?
yes
really?
cwm: a overhang on a cave
I take my hat off to the person (or people) who were involved in writing this post. I am also proud of the person (or people) who maintain and own dictionary.com in posting something as profound and informative as this post is. This article is beautifully academic, yet, informal so that many human beings who can comprehend English when reading it can understand the complexity of human identity within one’s own existence. As a Two-Spirit person, this posts makes me happy to know that people like myself (Gender Expansive people) are being recognized as normal and human – Thank you dictionary.com for being so informative and educating the masses in such a unique way.
What in the world is a Two-Spirit person? How can one person have two spirits?
I like the word of the year! All you people are makeing rude comments! Don’t listen to them.
Next year, just give us the word and forget all the rest of the mishmash.
I’m sorry I clicked and read the horrible reasoning behind the selection of this word.
Surely, you can do better. Why stoop to the level of the lowest common denominator?
Excellent work Dictionary.com!
This is of a quality one expects to see in The New Yorker.
As a ‘hick’ (now, there’s a word I’d like to see them do a paragraph or two on), from Oregon, I don’t read The New Yorker, and I am not entirely comfortable with all these new terms (pansexual!?), I agree with Gina, I think the article was very well written. Superb, even. Kudos to Dictionary.com!
Wwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ikr?
What is the word of the year?
never mind
OMG r u okay!!!?????
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddddddddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnntttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lol its people these days they i bet they just looked up on google wat people looked up the most
ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!!!!! OUT OF ALL OF THE FREAKING WORDS… YOU PICK SOMETHING SIMPLE!……..Identity……..
Yesus Christ…..
(I meant to do that)
ikr
Wow! As owner of H&M, I really like this blog! Would you like a job at H&M? Just contact us!
I wa t n job
They already have a job, and they won’t just give away their company.
I’m buying jeans from you guys tonight.
OF COURSE!!! YOUR STORE IS HUUUUGGGGEEEE! I WILL MAKE THEM PAY FOR THE WALL AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
I need a job, period.
yes i would
Mhm. Sure.
Yes I would like a job. I have been unemployed for about 19 years now. I think I will make a good worker because I learn fastly. I acsel very rapidly in my academicz
No,
as the owner of the google I reject your job. Thank you.
FFFFFFAAAAAAKKKKEEEE!!!!
Duh
So much ideologies,dogma, subjectivism, and so little objectivity, logic, and sensibility. I guess everyone including Dictionaries must jump in with the left-wing ride.
What a shame.
What’s next? Are you going to censor “offensive” words? I mean, you already started changing some definitions, so why not, right?
And, if everyone searched for murder, are you going to make the definitions more appealing to the masses and change the denotation?
You used to be one of my favourite sites…
to true. ’nuff said.
@Person – Thanks, mate.
I agree, they don’t even give a simple meaning. Going to a human is more logical these days.
@Disliker Bot– Sad, is it not?
Talking about “objectivity, logic, and sensibility” and then capitalizing a common noun? Yikes. But don’t worry, the good folks at Dictionary.com are not biased. They’re simply academics, meaning they are concerned with a more educated understanding of the world around us. Therefore, the content of this article that you [may have] read is only a natural result of such a reality. You quite likely do not identify as an academic, but considering the life conditions of those with differing identities is the beginning of the pursuit of knowledge of the world around us! Perhaps give the word a shot!
I’m going to try something really silly here and try to reply to a post that is clearly taking one side on this issue and throwing around the typical slights to try to demean those who don’t share the same viewpoint, and I’m going to try to use reasoning and logic …
Let’s take for a moment, the word “phone.” For many many years, it had the same meaning. Then cordless phones came along. Then cellphones, then phones with texting ability, then phones with Internet capabilities, then smartphones. Wouldn’t you say that the definition of “phone” has changed over the years as phones have changed?
Now, I’m not asking you to pick a side, and I’m not asking whether you agree with transgenders, or gay marriage, or anything else. All I’m saying is, these things are out there, whether you like it or not, whether you agree with it or not, whether you approve of it or not. In totally objective terms, there are new ways to identify oneself in recent years (again, I’m not asking if you agree with these new ways, simply saying they are out there), so a totally objective resource such as a dictionary needs to change as well to reflect the changing times and language.
Really, Scott, trying to use logic, and polite logic at that, with a group of Americans that only have their exclusionary ideologies to cling to? Are you mad, man?
Gigi- I see lots of right wing writers here using spellings from the UK. MM, for example. Read the sociolinguistic research and Americans are writing like crazy about identity. Anyway, the writers here with such exclusionary ideologies are mad to think that dictionary.com just invented a new definition of identity based on a left wing agenda. All you have to do is pick up any newspaper to see that identity is used in this multi-faceted way ALL the time. These haters are mad: angry and crazy. It just annoys me when they talk about this post as if it is illogical or unreasonable.
would you like some salt on your fries?
LOL
They never listen.
People that be sayin’ stuff that’s negative nedd to get off they top
next word of 2016 is wow!
shut up, its just a dictionary site -_-
They didn’t make up words: They added additional meanings that were linguistically significant because of the cultural climate. Culture is how words gain meaning. It has nothing to do with not being objective; you clearly either don’t understand language or are letting your own subjective biases or stupidity get in the way of what you just read.
Correction: I meant they didn’t change the definition of words as you purported.
Furthermore, it’s funny that you mention “logic” and then follow it with statements involving huge logical lapses (not to mention your aforementioned inability to keep your own subjective ideologies out of your interpretation of this article after criticizing it for not being objective). Well, of course, there’s also the humor in you using the term “sensible” while exhibiting very little sense in your conclusions. Basically, you should probably keep this as one of your favorite sites since you clearly could benefit from actually learning the meaning of words.
How was this not objective? They just highlighted the events that made us look at personal identity differently in the last year.
Also, dictionaries don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re reflections of people. Words get added in and taken out as usage increases or decreases. So, if a definition changes, it’s because peoples’ views of that word changes enough to warrant an alternate definition.
I don’t get how you are liking any of this to politics. Honestly, I think it’s great that the definition of our words can change. It shows our desire for new ideas. This doesn’t relate to censoring at all. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Dictionary.com is adapting to our changing world, not trying to block it. These new definitions are not trying to soften the others, but give new depth to the word. I haven’t ever seen any dictionary try to influence society by changing or adding a new definition.
Actually this article is pretty objective in its analysis of identity. Sure, a lot of what is speaks on is socially “leftist”, but that’s only because this year has been indisputably marked by an enormous leftward shift of America’s opinion on sociality. Society has never before been so accepting of abnormalities in identity, and this is simply fact. If you disagree with this sentiment of acceptance then that is your business and your right, but don’t go and rag on Dictionary.com for acknowledging the truth you so ignorantly refuse. How very “rightist” of you, killing the messenger for telling you of change.
what coud nt understnd
me twio
same
Good work…..let me give a little discover of me. April means up rising
this is beautiful :’)
No, this is ugly and stupid.
Wow, nice identity terms. No doubt that 2015 will be remembered as the identity year. I’ve heard of transsexual for a little more than a year now. I don’t like how there are cases of using “he” as a random person, for there are also females, and now even other gender/sex identities. Intersex is something I’ve heard recently.
you are a peice of sugar
honey
ice
tea
WAAAAAAA
I like your word of the year!!!!
I dont its stupid so shutup
Seriously? All of you at Dictionary.com got together and decided the word “Identity” would pass for the “word of the year?” Of all the words in the English dictionary. It’s just really odd that a very old word like identity would be chosen! lol. I understand the metaphor and the message you’re trying to make, but just b/c one word fits the way America is supposedly (in your eyes) moving and shaping into. I always thought that the word of the day was the most commonly used slang term that took off either from a celeb, politician, sports figure, etc. Not my favs, but for instance:
Tweking
tweking. lul
Identity is the perfect word. >:^(
You mean twerking….
they cam choose whatever word they want because this their site
IDENTITY????
yes didn”t you hear
No thanks I hate indentity for a word of the year
AWSOME :-0
it was good knowing your pst
This word is awesome.I wonder how it got to be in the english languge…
Don’t ask me…
because it is a word
that’s not nice Max, you should get a punishment from your mommy.
noob shutup