Merriam-Webster announced its 2018 Word of the Year on Monday morning, and it should come to little surprise to anyone who has been following the news cycle. “Justice” was the top-searched word amid Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s shady campaign and business dealings — apparently up a whopping 74 percent from 2017
For a number of reasons and meanings, ‘justice’ was on the minds of many in 2018.
‘Justice’ is our 2018 #WordOfTheYear.https://t.co/kyB9swUkQp
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 17, 2018
Although Mueller is certainly a big part of it, Merriam-Webster notes that the term also applies to the context of racial justice, social justice, criminal justice, and economic justice in the spotlight of national debates over the course of the past year
This year’s news had many stories involving the division within the executive branch of government responsible for the enforcement of laws: the Department of Justice, sometimes referred to simply as “Justice.” Of course, the Mueller investigation itself is constantly in the news, and is being carried out through the Justice Department. Another big news story included yet another meaning of the word justice, as a synonym or title for “judge,” used frequently during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court.
Rounding out the top ten behind justice were nationalism, pansexual, lodestar, epiphany, feckless (due to the one and only Samantha Bee), Laurel (due to that viral meme), pissant, respect, maverick, and excelsior — the last two in honor of the late Senator John McCain and Marvel creator Stan Lee, respectively.
At any rate, people will look forward to learning which words will buzz in 2019 … “incarceration,” perhaps?