OAKLAND, Calif., November 28, 2016 – Some of the most prominent news stories this year have centered on fear of the “other” – the Brexit vote, police shootings, Syria’s refugee crisis, transsexual rights, and the US presidential race. Because these stories have resonated so deeply in the cultural consciousness over the last 12 months, Dictionary.com has chosen xenophobia as its Word of the Year. The …
by Heather Bonikowski, Lexicographer, and John Kelly, Managing Editor Our first major update to Dictionary.com in 2021 looks a lot like … 2020. But that makes a lot of sense. From the pandemic to protests to politics, our language is still catching up to the tremendous change we experienced last year—and Dictionary.com is here to document it all. Our tireless team of lexicographers have touched …
The popularity of the Apple Watch has given the noun wearable some additional prominence. This leads to the question of which term came first: wearable or personal computer? As with so many such questions, there is no simple answer.
by John Kelly, Senior Research Editor at Dictionary.com Whether it’s flu season, chickenpox at your kid’s school, concerns about measles in your town, or the coronavirus pandemic, the words contagious and infectious often come around in news and social media, in casual conversations and government communications. While these two terms get used interchangeably, knowing the difference between them can, in some cases, be life-saving. To …
