Merriam-Webster’s 2023 Word Of The Year Is ‘Authentic’

As the crucial issue of truth and facts continues to dominate contemporary events, it may be no surprise that Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is “authentic.”

According to the online dictionary, there has been a significant volume of searches for the definition of the word for some years, but 2023 saw a “substantial increase,” owing to “stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media.”

According to the statement on the dictionary’s website, “authentic” has various connotations, including “not false or imitation” and “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.”

According to Merriam-Webster, authenticity is “clearly a desirable quality” and is frequently associated with identity displays, such as cuisine.

Merriam-Webster’s 2023 Word Of The Year Is ‘Authentic’

According to the dictionary, it has also been a word preferred by celebrities such as singers Lainey Wilson, Sam Smith, and Taylor Swift, all of whom have made headlines this year with declarations about seeking their “authentic voice” and “authentic self.”

Elon Musk is another supporter, having previously stated that individuals should be more “authentic” on social media. That became more of an issue early this year when Musk, as the new CEO of Twitter, now X, removed the characteristic blue check symbol of authenticity, now only available for a fee.

Because the rise of artificial intelligence has blurred the borders between what is real and what is not, celebrities, corporations, and social media influencers, among others, are eager to demonstrate their authenticity.

According to the dictionary, another word that popped up in searches this year was the nearly related “deepfake.”

According to Merriam-Webster, this refers to “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.”

Merriam-Webster’s 2023 Word Of The Year Is ‘Authentic’

According to the dictionary, there was a rise in searches for the term in April and early May, when Musk’s lawyers argued that he shouldn’t have to give court testimony on public statements he made since some of them were deepfakes. The argument was dismissed. Back in March, one of the most noteworthy news stories involving deepfake photos was one that appeared to show former President Donald Trump being dramatically captured by police.

Merriam-Webster named “gaslighting” the word of the year in 2022, claiming it had become a common phrase in the “age of misinformation.”

Coronation, dystopian, indict, and doppelgänger were among the other words that sent a lot of traffic to the online dictionary in 2023.

Meanwhile, “rizz” rocketed to the “top of lookups” in September, when the example of internet-driven slang was added to the dictionary.

“As a noun, rizz means ‘romantic appeal or charm’ (as in ‘a bro who has rizz’); as a verb (typically used with up, as in ‘rizz up that cutie’), it means ‘to charm or seduce.'”

SOURCE – (CNN)