The American Dialect Society's Word of the Year (WotY) are voted at the January American Dialect Society conference. The first year for which the word of the year was voted ("bushlips") by the ADS was 1990.All of the Words of the Year, 1990 to Present

Sam Corbin, a words and language writer for The New York Times, comparing the ADS WOTY with the likes from prominent dictionaries, wrote that "the American Dialect Society celebrates linguistic variation to an almost absurd degree".Sam Corbin, Among Linguists, the Word of the Year Is More of a Vibe, The New York Times

Starting with about 30 society members in early years, as of 2023 the vote drew some 300 participants. Recently the event consists of two parts: the live nominating session, which culls the nominations open to public a month in advance, and the live vote.

2025 Word of the Year: slop: low-quality, high-quantity content, most typically produced by generative AI Most useful: that's AI Most likely to succeed: chopped: ugly, undesirable Political word of the year: icy conditions: a coded alert to activity by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Digital word of the year: slop Informal word of the year: 6-7 Most creative word of the year: reheat nachos: redo in an inferior way

2024

Word of the Year: rawdog: to undertake without usual protection, preparation, or comfort (extension of earlier meaning 'to have sex without a condom') Most useful: lock in: to enter a state of deep focus and concentration Most likely to succeed: unserious Political Word of the Year: Luigi Digital Word of the Year: brainrot Informal Word of the Year: rawdog Most Creative Word of the Year: "the X I Xed": phrasal template with an invented irregular verb, used as a playful intensifier (as in "the gasp I gusped/guspt," "the scream I scrempt") Most Fun While It Lasted Word of the Year: brat

2023

Word of the Year: enshittification Most useful/Most likely to succeed: (derogatory): parenthetical comment humorously appended after a word that might not be expected to be derogatory Political Word of the Year: 🍉 (watermelon emoji): symbol of Palestinian solidarity used on social media Digital Word of the Year: enshittification Informal Word of the Year: "let (someone) cook": allow (someone) to do something that they are good at without interference Acronym/Initialism of the Year: FAFO (fuck around and find out): warning that foolish actions will result in unwanted consequences AI-related Word of the Year: stochastic parrot Most Creative Word of the Year: Kenaissance: renaissance in the wake of the Barbie movie's depiction of Ken Euphemism of the Year: "structurally restrictive housing": solitary confinement (rebranded by the New York City Department of Correction)

2022 Word of the Year: "-ussy": suffix from "pussy", attached to various words, as in "bussy" = "boy pussy" Most useful/Most likely to succeed: "quiet quitting", minimal performance at a job Political Word of the Year: "Dark Brandon", a hint to "Let's Go Brandon, a hint to Joe Biden Digital Word of the Year: "-dle", for Wordle-like games Informal Word of the Year: " it's giving (X)", Most Creative Word of the Year: "-ussy", see above Euphemism of the Year: "special military operation", same choice and as for the Russian Word of the Year 2022: a euphemism for the Russian invasion of Ukraine Snowclone/phrasal template of the Year: "not X", to ironically express mock horror, incredulity, etc. Emoji of the Year: 💀 [skull], to express death (not) from something: laughter, frustration, etc.

2021 Word of the Year: Insurrection Most Likely to Succeed: antiwork Most Useful: hard pants Political Word of the Year: Insurrection Digital Word of the Year: #FreeBritney Pandemic-related Word of the Year (special category): boosted Financial/Economic Word of the Year (special category): Supply chain Informal Word of the Year: yassify Most Creative Word of the Year: Fauci ouchie Euphemism of the Year: unalive

2020 Word of the Year: Covid Most Likely to Succeed: antiracism Most Useful: Before Times Political Word of the Year: abolish/defund Digital Word of the Year: doomscrolling Zoom-related Word of the Year (special category): you're muted Pandemic-related Word of the Year (special category): social distancing Slang/Informal Word of the Year: the rona Most Creative Combining Form: quaran- (as in quarantini, quaranteam, quaranbeard, quarantigue) Euphemism of the Year: essential (workers, labor, businesses) Emoji of the Year: (face with medical mask)

2018 Word of the Year: tender-age shelter/camp/facility Political Word of the Year: (the) wall Digital Word of the Year: techlash Slang/Informal Word of the Year: yeet Most Useful: Voldemorting Most Likely to Succeed: single-use Most Creative: white-caller crime Euphemism of the Year: racially charged WTF Word of the Year: deleted family unit Hashtag of the Year: #nottheonion Emoji of the Year: (thinking face emoji)

2017 Word of the Year: fake news Political Word of the Year: antifa Digital Word of the Year: shitpost Slang/Informal Word of the Year: wypipo Most Useful: die by suicide Most Likely to Succeed: fake news Most Creative: broflake Euphemism of the Year: alternative facts WTF Word of the Year: covfefe Hashtag of the Year: #metoo Emoji of the Year: (woman with head scarf or hijab)

2016 Word of the Year: dumpster fire Political Word of the Year: post-truth Digital Word of the Year: @ (verb) reply on Twitter using the @ symbol Slang Word of the Year: woke Most Useful/Most Likely to Succeed: gaslight Most Creative: laissez-fairydust Euphemism of the Year: locker-room banter WTF Word of the Year: bigly Hashtag of the Year: #NoDAPL Emoji of the Year: (fire) ``"lit", exciting``

2015 Word of the Year: they Most Useful/Most Likely to Succeed: they Most Creative: ammosexual Most Unnecessary: manbun Most Outrageous: fuckboy, fuckboi Most Euphemistic: Netflix and chill Most Likely to Succeed: ghost Least Likely to Succeed: sitbit Most Notable Hashtag: #SayHerName Most Notable Emoji (new category): (eggplant emoji) sexual innuendo

2014 Word of the Year: #blacklivesmatter Most Useful: even from "I can't even" Most Creative: columbusing Most Unnecessary: baeless Most Outrageous: second-amendment v. to kill (someone) with a gun Most Euphemistic: EIT Most Likely to Succeed: salty Least Likely to Succeed: platisher Most Notable Hashtag (new category): #blacklivesmatter

2013 Word of the Year: because introducing a noun, adjective, or other part of speech (e.g., "because reasons," "because awesome") Most Useful: because Most Creative: catfish Most Unnecessary: sharknado Most Outrageous: underbutt Most Euphemistic: least untruthful Most Likely to Succeed: binge-watch Least Likely to Succeed: Thanksgivukkah Most Productive: -shaming

2012 Word of the Year: #hashtag Most Useful: -(po)calypse, -(ma)geddon Most Creative: gate lice Most Unnecessary: legitimate rape Most Outrageous: legitimate rape Most Euphemistic: self-deportation Most Likely to Succeed: marriage equality Least Likely to Succeed: tie between phablet and YOLO Election Words: binders (full of women)

2011 Word of the Year: Occupy Most Useful: humblebrag Most Creative: Mellencamp a woman who has aged out of being a "cougar (after John Cougar Mellencamp) Most Unnecessary: bi-winning Most Outrageous: assholocracy Most Euphemistic: job creator Most Likely to Succeed: cloud Least Likely to Succeed: brony Occupy Words: the 99%, 99 percenters

2010 Word of the Year: app Most Useful: nom Most Creative: prehab Most Unnecessary: refudiate Most Outrageous: gate rape Most Euphemistic: kinetic event Most Likely to Succeed: trend Least Likely to Succeed: culturomics Fan Words: gleek

2009 Word of the Year: tweet Word of the Decade: google Most Useful: fail Most Creative: Dracula sneeze Most Unnecessary: sea kittens Most Outrageous: death panel Most Euphemistic: hike the Appalachian trail Most Likely to Succeed: twenty-ten Least Likely to Succeed: Any name of the decade 2000–2009, such as Naughties, Aughties, Oughties, etc.

2008 Word of the Year: bailout Most Useful: Barack Obama Both names as combining forms Most Creative: recombobulation area Most Unnecessary: moofing Most Outrageous: terrorist fist jab Most Euphemistic: scooping technician Most Likely to Succeed: shovel-ready Least Likely to Succeed: PUMA Election-related Words: maverick

2007 Word of the Year: subprime Most Useful: green- Most Creative: Googlegänger Most Unnecessary: Happy Kwanhanamas! Most Outrageous: toe-tapper Most Euphemistic: human terrain team Most Likely to Succeed: green- Least Likely to Succeed: strand-in Real Estate/Mortgage/Loan Words: subprime

2006 Word of the Year: to pluto/be plutoed Most Useful: climate canary Most Creative: lactard Most Unnecessary: SuriKat Most Outrageous: Cambodian accessory Most Euphemistic: waterboarding Most Likely to Succeed: YouTube as a verb, to use the YouTube web site or to have a video of one's self be posted on the site Least Likely to Succeed: grup Pluto-Related Words: to be plutoed, to pluto

2005 Word of the Year: truthiness Most Useful: podcast Most Creative: whale-tail Most Unnecessary: K Fed Most Outrageous: crotchfruit, a child or children Most Euphemistic: internal nutrition, force-feeding a prisoner Most Likely to Succeed: sudoku Least Likely to Succeed: pope-squatting, registering a likely domain name of a new pope in advance Special nonce category, Best Tom Cruise-Related Word: "jump the couch"

1990 Word of the Year: bushlips: insincere political rhetoric; the term was inspired by the former president, George H. W. Bush, who once said, "Read my lips, no new taxes,” and then broke his promise.

Notes

References