JENN McKINLAY: I'm sure my etymology professor from university would be shocked (perchance relieved?) to discover that I no longer find the study of words and their origins utterly boring. Eh, I was nineteen when I took that class and much more interested in my social calendar than my studies.
Anyway, as I've matured into a fully functional adult with a wordy profession, I have developed the habit of checking to see what rando word Merriam-Webster has chosen for their word of the year as well as the runner ups. Incidentally, "rando" is not one of them.
The MW word of the year is "authentic". I found this fascinating because during a recent conversation with a friend of mine, she told me she had been struggling with a toxic work associate, who everyone else seemed to adore. She couldn't understand why. My friend's therapist helped her see that what she was struggling with was the person's lack of authenticity. My friend could sense that the person was full of rubbish behind the winning smile, and she simply couldn't warm up to her.
I then applied this information to a few people that bug me for no explicable reason and lo and behold, yup, that was it. To me, they were very inauthentic sorts of people -- you know the type, the ones who shake your hand but are too busy looking past you to see if there's someone with more clout in the room. Ahem. And yet, everyone else seemed to adore them. I thought I was being petty but I realized, nope. They just weren't authentic...with me.
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| (MW Online Dictionary Screenshot) |
So naturally, I assumed MW picked this word because we're dealing with a world full of shallow people and MW was calling them out, but that wasn't entirely it. The word was actually chosen because as reported by PBS, the definition of authentic was increasingly searched for in 2023.
“We see in 2023 a kind of crisis of authenticity,” Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, Peter Sokolowski, said in an exclusive interview given to The Associated Press. “What we realize is that when we question authenticity, we value it even more.”
I have to agree. Writers are now adding notes to their books declaring that they weren't written with the help of AI. As a writer and a reader, I can definitely see why authenticity has become a thing.
I did like some of their other highly searched runner up words:
Rizz -- Short for charisma. Cute! I like it!
Implode -- Because of the Titan submersible which captured the attention of the world after it devastatingly imploded.
Deepfake -- AI generated a phony ad of Ryan Reynolds pimping Tesla which caused this term to have a searchapalooza of its own. Along with authenticity, I'm seeing a theme...
What about you Reds and Readers, what do you think of authenticity as the word of the year? Do you agree or what would you have chosen instead?
Authentic seems perfectly fine to me, but I doubt that its choice will help those who lack authenticity to commit to any real change.
ReplyDeleteLike anything else, the choice of a particular word may partly be the opportunity to call attention to something. Both Cambridge Dictionary and Dictionary chose "hallucinate" while Collins Dictionary chose "AI" . . . both words related to each other [when AI gives false information, it is hallucinating]. Oxford Dictionary went with "rizz" [which seems rather silly to me] but perhaps the point is to get people to pay more attention to the words they use and what they convey to others . . . .
I agree Joan but would add "perhaps the point"... is to convey what new words are coming into the language.
DeleteI am shocked that the Oxfird went with rizz - I hadn't even heard of it until I looked up the year's words.
DeleteI agree about rizz. I prefer situationship.
DeleteJenn, now you have me thinking about the authenticity of people who rub me the wrong way when others adore them. Interesting and thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, I'm okay with authentic as the word of the year. I like that it's a topic folks are researching and contemplating. We could use a bit more authenticity in the world.
Right? Some people are very charming and still completely bogus. It's like your Spidey senses tell you not to trust them but everyone else does and you think "Is it just me? An I the problem?"
DeleteJENN: Hmmm, the authenticity (or lack of) in certain people you know/meet does make sense. Surprised that I have heard of "rizz" since I am usually out-of-touch with modern-day slang. I agree with JOAN that I don't think it should have been Oxford Dictionary's word of the year. And many thanks for looking up the words of the year in the other dictionaries.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Here are the other 13 words that Merriam highlighted as standouts of 2023:
DeleteRizz, Deepfake, Coronation, Dystopian, EGOT, X, Implode, Doppelgänger, Covenant, Indict, Elemental, Kibbutz, Deadname.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/29/merriam-webster-word-of-the-year-2023-authentic-rizz-deepfake.html
"Indict" - yup.
DeleteIndict is one of those words that really bugs me. It spelled with a c so it should be indi K t right? But it is said without the c or k sound. Errrr!!
Deletewhy is the word "rizz" new to me? Perhaps because I have not seen that word in print until today?
DeleteDiana
You're ahead of me. I hadn't heard of rizz.
DeleteAha - now I know what bugs me when people smile as they're talking. It's inauthentic.
ReplyDeleteSearchapalooza is a pretty good word on its own, Jenn! And now I need to have "rizz" come out of a character's mouth - preferably someone surprising, like a senior citizen sidekick.
I’m with Jerry
DeleteOops. See below!
DeleteEDITH: Your comment reminded me of when someone was explaining the ? (I'm trying to think of the right word here...? significance? ) behind American Sign Language. For example, if you sign "HAPPY", then you need to use the facial expression when you are Happy. If your face looks sad when you sign Happy, then the eye listener will wonder if you meant to sign "sad".
DeleteDiana
Thank you, Edith. I liked searchapalooza, too :)
DeleteSpeaking personally, my word of the year (rephrased for delicate ears) is "ohcrap!" This also has been my word of the year for every year since 2016.
ReplyDeleteLOL!!! Yes, I do have that one on repeat.
DeleteFascinating Jenn! When I look at Grace's list, I sure see why implode makes sense--and not just that submarine, but our whole world...
ReplyDeleteSadly true about "implode".
DeleteYup.
DeleteI’m anti-authentic. And bored with it modifying every mood, thought, personification, description et al. Had I my way it would be banned in both conversation and the airways
ReplyDeleteI feel the same with “ reach out”, “be your/my best self”, and all those other psycho babble phrases I hear daily.
Bah. Humbug.
Can we add 'going forward'.
DeleteAnn, thank you! Sick of "...of the year" lists altogether!
DeleteReaching out. Can we just get rid of that phrase forever?
DeleteDo you think it's the rise of social media and everyone needing to share everything all the time?
DeleteAnd let’s add “no problem” as a generic response to everything that shouldn’t have been a problem in the first place
DeleteAdd “a lot to unpack.”
Jenn, I would have loved to take that class!
ReplyDeleteWords that are so overused and that I am so tired of:
Transparency – you can bet it will come up at least once in a news report.
Experience – everything has to be an experience. I first noticed this in the 2010’s when working with a Visitor’s Center. Once upon a time you just went to see something or make your own fun, but now it has to be an ‘experience’ and what I often feel is contrived to someone (else’s) expectations. In a lot of cases it could quite possibly ruin what the place was developed for: Fortress Louisbourg Historical Site for example – now instead of absorbing the history of the place, there are walks, runs, camping in the square, exploring in nature – what happened to the life and culture of the time?
This year it is conversation. Everything has to be a conversation. “Join us in the conversation, the conversation continues”… and so on.
I don’t know who dreams up that we all have to speak alike in some convoluted dialogue, but please stop! Get a dictionary – try and use it. In days of old, when people were less ‘book-learned’, the words that were used were more varied and can I say colourful. Like, pulease, you know (sarcasm there).
Ann
DeleteAgree
DeleteConversation has been overused for about a decade. Just...no!
DeleteLOL - I agree! So many things have been dusted and done and are still entirely overused. Argh.
DeleteMy first thought was: I can easily associate authenticity with this blog that I love so much.
ReplyDeleteAuthentic people sharing their authentic thoughts on the subject of the day.
So rare and so refreshing !
I’ll have to check if French dictionaries choose words of the year
Danielle
Danielle! I would love to know that! What a brilliant idea…
DeleteDo report back, Danielle. And thank you. I think we all strive to be genuine here.
DeleteI think we can be genuine because this is a safe space. Thank you.
DeleteNow I am worried about being authentic. Is it fake to hide anger and despair from acquaintances? If we are hurting, do we have to wear it? You know that if you put on the smile, you will eventually feel it inside. Everyone does not have to know what you really think. Positivity is a better look. I choose that. Am I authentic? How is that perceived?
ReplyDeleteAs for the person looking around to see who is more important, I can't think of anyone I would find more fascinating than the 7 Reds and the friends I have made here.
Judy, I see inauthentic people as those who are trying to mask who they really are, self-interested, lazy, rapacious, betrayers, etc. When we try to put on a brave face, we're momentarily concealing pain or anger--not wanting to inflict that on someone else. (Flora)
DeleteNo, I don't think authenticity means that you have to reveal your innermost feelings all the time. I skew positive and I don't think it's inauthentic, I'm just a happy person by nature. That being said, I don't view people as stepping stones to climb up on my way to greater heights - to me that is the authenticity I see most often because of the industry I'm in.
DeleteYou're fabulous, Judy. Don't change a thing.
Aw-w-w, thanks.
DeleteIt's interesting to get a negative feeling about a person whom everyone else seems to really like and it does make one wonder. The same can be said for books that you just didn't like which are extremely popular and well reviewed. Did I miss something? Why did I not like this story?
I love your comment about positivity Judy. A positive attitude goes a long way toward brightening the day. I don't think it's about authenticity. It's simply being kind to yourself and others.
DeleteI'll be darned, my comment vanished.
ReplyDeleteWith so much "fake news" accusations, misleading statements, outright lies by supposed news outlets, and flatout propaganda, it's super hard to drill down to find a kernel of truth these days. So many are intellectually fatigued trying to do so that they end up tuning out altogether. So no wonder "authenticity" is such a buzzword now.
All I can control is myself, and I strive to be as truthful and real as possible, within my human limits. I sure wish we didn't have to mistrust so many others not to do the same.
I think we've always had crooks among us, it's just now they have so many more points of access. *sigh*
DeleteGood way of putting it, Jenn! — Pat S
DeleteI dream of the day when the most searched words will be along the lines of 'peace, tolerance, etc.' Just call me Pollyanna....(Flora)
ReplyDeleteYES!!! I dream of that, too.
DeleteI wonder when the word of the year will be “truth.” As in : here’s a real thing that really happened and it is real. It is not what someone makes it up to be or decides it is or wants to be or tries to convince someone else it is.
ReplyDeleteHANK: Truth is a good word. Diana
DeleteApparently "truth" has become subjective. *sigh*
Delete"Alternate truths' to go with alternate 'facts'. "Sigh" is right. (Flora)
DeleteJENN: So sorry to hear that your friend is working in a toxic environment.
ReplyDeleteIf I may ask, is your friend dealing with other issues at work? Like her or his? emails disappearing or someone stealing lunch from the work kitchen? Did I miss something here? Dealing with someone who is not authentic - did your friend mean that the toxic colleague made false promises and did not follow through? Is that person taking credit for your friend's work? Dealing with someone who is always looking for someone else with more clout? I have been Guilty of looking around me while talking to someone.
Let me explain. Sometimes it looks like I am invisible because someone would bump into me while I'm talking to someone. I finally figured out a solution. I try to have my back to the wall when talking to someone because then I can see everyone. And I also look around to make sure that I am Not interrupting a conversation.
There are some people who are Not Authentic for various reasons. I had to deal with a few people like that. I do think that they they read something like "How to win Friends". That is a good word.
Do people who are Not Authentic Know that they are not Authentic or are they Unaware? I wonder...Do they think they are being Polite and are not aware that they are coming across as Not being authentic?
Diana
In her situation, I think it was more about the person using everyone around them to climb the corporate ladder but did it in such a "Tom Sawyer paint the fence for me" sort of way that my friend was the only one mystified by the flagrant manipulation. It happens.
DeleteI'm the one who gets annoyed when meeting someone who can't be bothered to make eye contact. It's like dating a man with a roving eye. No thank you! :)
If authentic is the word of the year I wonder what the political race year 2024's will be. Unattainable? Unrealistic? Xanadu?
ReplyDeleteDystopian? Oy.
DeleteFlora, I so agree with your list of words, and I agree with truth as a word of the year. As for over used phrases that grate, I would add, "and that's okay," although I haven't heard it for some time. I do like authentic as a word of the year. And I agree this is an authentic group. It's a blog I return to again and again for that reason. Like some others, I never heard of rizz.
ReplyDeleteIt does feel like a safe space here. Phew!
DeleteIt makes sense to me that the word "authentic" has been so important in 2023 (and will continue to be in 2024) because so many of us (that means you, dear Reds and readers, as well as millions of others) value goodness, truth, and sincerity yet find the news dominated by evil, self-serving liars (let's start with Putin.)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the word of the year in Switzerland is "Monsterbank" (because of UBS swallowing Credit Suisse--so that's not very interesting for non-Swiss), and in Germany it's "Krisenmodus" or "crisis mode," which I think illustrates how a lot of us in Europe have felt since Russia attacked Ukraine. After all, it's only a twelve-hour drive across two little countries from our border to Ukraine's.
It amazes me that there are people who can't grasp how important it is to keep Russia out of Ukraine. It simply boggles that they don't grasp the far reaching implications for all of Europe. Argh! Krisenmodus seems like the perfect word of the year. *sigh*
DeleteKim, thanks for sharing these terms. I wish for you and the rest of Europe for Russia and its dictator (oops, what am I saying? He gets “authentically” elected all of the time, doesn’t he?!) to stay within their borders and let everyone else live in peace. — Pat S
DeleteThanks for sharing these, Kim. So interesting, and we Americans need to look beyond our borders. And what Jenn said...
DeleteSo many people here in the US don't seem to understand how WWII actually started, the Europeans certainly do. Hitler invaded Poland and no country stood up to stop him. He then had a green light to march in to other countries and take them over. That is exactly what Putin is doing in Crimea, Georgia and Ukraine. I am surprised European nations aren't more forceful about stopping Putin. Ukraine should immediately have been granted status into the EU and protected.
DeleteThanks for the support and understanding of Europe's position, Jenn, Pat, Debs, and Anonymous.
DeleteLooking over at the business world, there is a word (technically a two-word phrase) that has always fried me, which is "right size." Whenever a company has to contemplate layoffs to reduce costs, the magic phrase is the need to "right size" the company. Isn't amazing though that those most responsible for wrong sizing the company are never the first to go, but generally keep their jobs and deciding who goes.
ReplyDeleteKeep their jobs and get a bonus...grrrrr. When I was with the city during the recession they cushioned it by calling it "reduction in force". What a bunch of BS.
DeleteI like it! Kinda sums up what we're seeking in the year ahead.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteJenn, one of my favorite classes in college was Greek and Latin Word Derivation (aka etymology). I was thinking it was because I was a wise, 20 year old whereas you were only 19, but truly it was the professor. He was very engaging and made it fun. That class helped me with Spanish classes because I would “derive” the unknown Spanish phrase to figure out the meaning. It also sparked what my husband calls my word nerdiness.
ReplyDeleteA phrase I would like to be rid of is “I’m okay” as a response to something like “Would you like some more to drink?” or something similar. What happened to, “No, thank you”? If it’s someone I know (my son, e.g.), I respond, “I know you’re okay. Now do you want more or not?” Since this is a safe place (that I love visiting daily), I will acknowledge that I sound like a curmudgeon! — Pat S
Ha! I completely get that. Your fellow curmudgeon.
DeleteSo interesting... I'm onboard with "authentic" - on beyond "truthiness" - But what about people who are authentically perpetually grumpy? Somehow the authenticity doesn't neutralize the negative pall they cast. A little fake cheer wouldn't be amiss... and it can be self perpetuating.
ReplyDeleteWell, good manners should not be considered inauthentic and I think it's good manners not to be a black cloud of negativity all over everyone else. A little inner Tigger to balance the inner Eeyore is never a bad thing.
DeleteFascinating, Jenn. I think the OED's approach is a little different from MW, as in new words that have made their way into the language, rather than most used words of the year. I love "rizz" but if I let a character use it then the book will be be so authentically 2023:-)
ReplyDeleteGood point Debs. I agree that OED's approach is much easier to incorporate words into our language rather than a contest of which word is used the most. Words like rizz will date the user and soon be out of fashion.
DeleteAnd your copy editor will call you out if they aren't up on the new words :)
Delete