2025’s words of the year reflect a year of digital disillusionment
From AI slop to rage bait, to the cryptic ‘6-7,’ this year’s slate captures a growing sense that online life is flooded with fakery, frustration and meaninglessness.
Which terms best represent 2025?
Every year, editors for publications ranging from the Oxford English Dictionary to the Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English select a “word of the year.”
Sometimes these terms are thematically related, particularly in the wake of world-altering events. “Pandemic,” “lockdown” and “coronavirus,” for example, were among the words chosen in 2020. At other times, they are a potpourri of various cultural trends, as with 2022’s “goblin mode,” “permacrisis” and “gaslighting.”
This year’s slate largely centers on digital life. But rather than reflecting the unbridled optimism about the internet of the early aughts – when words like “w00t,” “blog,” “tweet” and even “face with tears of joy” emoji (
Read These Next
Israel’s ‘campaign between the wars’: How strategy to contain Iran and its allies risks further stra
Israel has long sought to gain a military advantage by degrading its adversaries’ military capabilities…
For Haitian women in Florida, the loss of TPS is more than an immigration law issue
The uncertainty of Haitian TPS status in the US is a significant source of stress for Haitian migrants,…
Americans are not as well off as people in peer nations – US safety net’s shortfalls show up in glob
This is not a one-year blip. The US has been underperforming in terms of health, education and more…
