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Merriam-Webster Asks What Words Should Be Used More In 2024, And We're Speechless

New year, new words? The dictionary company seeks help in defining new paths of discourse.
David Moye
By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

Since 2024 is a new year, maybe people should use new words ― or at least different ones.

That was the thought behind a post Monday from Merriam-Webster on social media asking its followers what words they would like to use more often this year.

This comes a few weeks after the dictionary publisher declared “authentic” as its 2023 word of the year.

Merriam-Webster offered a suggestion and said it wanted to “really lean into ‘edifice’” in the coming year.

What is a word you would like to use more often in 2024?

We might try to really lean into ‘edifice.’

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) January 1, 2024

Many people offered suggestions, and many of the responses were unspeakably clever.

Guilty. I'd like to hear "guilty" a lot this year.

— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) January 1, 2024

I don’t have an edifice complex, although I wouldn’t mind hearing “penitentiary”. Also “guilty” and “remand” would be right up there.

— Karen Leavitt 🌻 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@kleavitt) January 1, 2024

Eclipse (in honor of the April 8 event)
Instead of something trumped something else
Say something eclipsed something else

— Pete Finnegan (@Pete_Finnegan) January 1, 2024

Two words really: disposable income. https://t.co/lquYhLAh3O

— Jaqi Nightshade “official” 🎄☃️🎁 (@melmus99) January 1, 2024

Fugly!!! https://t.co/yQbXhgSeRT

— Fiona_No_ID_Lady 🌻🇺🇦🌈🏳️⚧️🟦 (@No_ID_Lady) January 1, 2024

I’ve always loved ‘unfathomable’. I think I’ll start using it a lot more. https://t.co/cDfKwVPLbb

— Astrojoc (@astrojoc) January 1, 2024

Forever and always: Each resolution in this regard is the same: Kerfuffle.

— Eric Owens (@ericowensdc) January 1, 2024

Naysayers

— DuffJuice (@DuffJuice30) January 1, 2024

Perfunctory. It’s a real killjoy to work with people day in day out who treat their duties with very little purposeful interest.

— ᴀᴍʙɪᴋᴀ ᴊᴏɪꜱ 🦉 (@ambikajois) January 1, 2024

Tergiversation.

Tergiversation = the act of making statements that deliberately hide the truth or that avoid answering a question directly.
OR
the act of removing your support from one person, group, or religion and beginning to support another.

— Guyro Gearloose (@Guyro_Gearloose) January 1, 2024
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