We still have a month before 2022 is history, Merriam Webster has already chosen their word of the year. The 2022 Word Of The Year is – Gaslighting! Definition: “the act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage.”
There were plenty of words to choose from this year. These are the runner ups.
“Oligarch” . . . due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Omicron” . . . because of the persistent COVID-19 variant.
“Codify” . . . as in turning abortion rights into federal law.
“Queen consort” . . . what King Charles’ wife, Camilla, is now known as.
“Raid” . . . due to the search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
“Sentient” . . . after an engineer freaked us out over an unreleased A.I. system.
“Cancel culture” . . . that one’s obvious.
“LGBTQIA” . . . the abbreviation for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, plus asexual, aromantic or agender.”
“Loamy” . . . after it was brought into pop culture thanks to Wordle.
Did they miss any words that should be considered?
— Doug O’Brien
