'Post-truth' named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries

'Post-truth' named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries ... Donald Trump, speaking during a campaign rally in South Carolina in the leadup to ... 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AdvertisementNewsOpinionSportCultureLifestyleShowMoreShowMoreNewsWorldnewsUKnewsCoronavirusClimatecrisisEnvironmentScienceGlobaldevelopmentFootballTechBusinessObituariesOpinionTheGuardianviewColumnistsCartoonsOpinionvideosLettersSportFootballCricketRugbyunionTennisCyclingF1GolfUSsportsCultureBooksMusicTV&radioArt&designFilmGamesClassicalStageLifestyleFashionFoodRecipesLove&sexHealth&fitnessHome&gardenWomenMenFamilyTravelMoneyMakeacontributionSubscribeSearchjobsHolidaysDigitalArchiveGuardianPuzzlesappGuardiancontentlicensingsiteTheGuardianappVideoPodcastsPicturesNewslettersToday'spaperInsidetheGuardianTheObserverGuardianWeeklyCrosswordsSearchjobsHolidaysDigitalArchiveGuardianPuzzlesappGuardiancontentlicensingsiteBooksMusicTV&radioArt&designFilmGamesClassicalStageReferenceandlanguagesbooksThisarticleismorethan5yearsold'Post-truth'namedwordoftheyearbyOxfordDictionariesThisarticleismorethan5yearsoldUSelectionandEUreferendumdrivepopularityofadjectivedescribingsituation‘inwhichobjectivefactsarelessinfluentialthanappealstoemotion’DonaldTrump…theincreaseinusageof‘post-truth’isattributedinparttohispresidentialnomination.Photograph:JimWatson/AFP/GettyImagesDonaldTrump…theincreaseinusageof‘post-truth’isattributedinparttohispresidentialnomination.Photograph:JimWatson/AFP/GettyImagesAlisonFloodTue15Nov201620.00GMTLastmodifiedonMon3Feb202012.24GMTIntheeraofDonaldTrumpandBrexit,OxfordDictionarieshasdeclared“post-truth”tobeitsinternationalwordoftheyear.Definedbythedictionaryasanadjective“relatingtoordenotingcircumstancesinwhichobjectivefactsarelessinfluentialinshapingpublicopinionthanappealstoemotionandpersonalbelief”,editorssaidthatuseoftheterm“post-truth”hadincreasedbyaround2,000%in2016comparedtolastyear.Thespikeinusage,itsaid,is“inthecontextoftheEUreferendumintheUnitedKingdomandthepresidentialelectionintheUnitedStates”.OxfordDictionaries’swordoftheyearisintendedto“reflectthepassingyearinlanguage”,withpost-truthfollowingthecontroversialchoicelastyearofthe“facewithtearsofjoy”emoji.Thepublisher’sUSandUKdictionaryteamssometimesplumpfordifferentchoices–in2009theUKwentfor“simples”andtheUSfor“unfriend”;in2006theUKwentfor“bovvered”andtheUSfor“carbon-neutral”–butthisyearteamsonbothsidesoftheAtlanticchosethesameword.Howtechnologydisruptedthetruth|KatharineVinerReadmoreContendersforthetitlehadincludedthenoun“alt-right”,shortenedfromthefullerform“alternativeright”anddefinedas“anideologicalgroupingassociatedwithextremeconservativeorreactionaryviewpoints,characterisedbyarejectionofmainstreampoliticsandbytheuseofonlinemediatodisseminatedeliberatelycontroversialcontent”.Firstusedin2008,itsuse“surged”thisspringandsummer,saidthedictionary,with30%ofusageinAugustalone.Brexiteerwasalsointherunningforthecrown,alongwithnon-politicaltermsincludingcoulrophobia,thefearofclowns,andhygge,theDanishconceptofcosiness.Buttheincreaseinusageofpost-truthsawthetermeventuallyemergeaheadofthepack.“WefirstsawthefrequencyreallyspikethisyearinJunewithbuzzovertheBrexitvoteandDonaldTrumpsecuringtheRepublicanpresidentialnomination.Giventhatusageofthetermhasn’tshownanysignsofslowingdown,Iwouldn’tbesurprisedifpost-truthbecomesoneofthedefiningwordsofourtime,”predictedOxfordDictionariespresidentCasperGrathwohl.“It’snotsurprisingthatourchoicereflectsayeardominatedbyhighly-chargedpoliticalandsocialdiscourse.Fuelledbytheriseofsocialmediaasanewssourceandagrowingdistrustoffactsofferedupbytheestablishment,post-truthasaconcepthasbeenfindingitslinguisticfootingforsometime.”AccordingtoOxfordDictionaries,thefirsttimethetermpost-truthwasusedina1992essaybythelateSerbian-AmericanplaywrightSteveTesichintheNationmagazine.Tesich,writingabouttheIran-ContrascandalandthePersianGulfwar,saidthat“we,asafreepeople,havefreelydecidedthatwewanttoliveinsomepost-truthworld”.“Thereisevidenceofthephrasepost-truthbeingusedbeforeTesich’sarticle,butapparentlywiththetransparentmeaning‘afterthetruthwasknown’,andnotwiththenewimplicationthattruthitselfhasbecomeirrelevant,”saidOxfordDictionaries.Thepublisherpointedtotherecentexpansioninmeaningoftheprefix“post-”,sayingthat“ratherthansimplyreferringtothetimeafteraspecifiedsituationorevent–asinpost-warorpost-match”,inpost-truthithadtakenonthemeaningof“belongingtoatimeinwhichthespecifiedconcepthasbecomeunimportantorirrelevant”.Thenuance,itsaid,originatedinthemid-20thcentury,andhasbeenusedinformationssuchaspost-national(1945)andpost-racial(1971).Post-truthhasnowbeenincludedinOxfordDictionaries.com,andeditorswillmonitoritsfutureusagetoseeifitwillbeincludedinfutureeditionsoftheOxfordEnglishDictionary.Therestoftheshortlistadulting:noun,informalThepracticeofbehavinginawaycharacteristicofaresponsibleadult,especiallytheaccomplishmentofmundanebutnecessarytasks.alt-right:nounAnideologicalgroupingassociatedwithextremeconservativeorreactionaryviewpoints,characterisedbyarejectionofmainstreampoliticsandbytheuseofonlinemediatodisseminatedeliberatelycontroversialcontent.Brexiteer:noun,informalApersonwhoisinfavouroftheUnitedKingdomwithdrawingfromtheEuropeanUnion.chatbot:nounAcomputerprogramdesignedtosimulateconversationwithhumanusers,especiallyovertheinternet.coulrophobia:nounExtremeorirrationalfearofclowns.glasscliff:nounUsedwithreferencetoasituationinwhichawomanormemberofaminoritygroupascendstoaleadershippositioninchallengingcircumstanceswheretheriskoffailureishigh.hygge:nounAqualityofcosinessandcomfortableconvivialitythatengendersafeelingofcontentmentorwellbeing(regardedasadefiningcharacteristicofDanishculture).Latinx:nounApersonofLatinAmericanoriginordescent(usedasagender-neutralornon-binaryalternativetoLatinoorLatina).woke:adjective,USinformal[OriginallyinAfrican-Americanusage]Alerttoinjusticeinsociety,especiallyracism.TopicsReferenceandlanguagesbooksUSelections2016BrexitnewsReusethiscontentcomments(…)CommentinghasbeendisabledatthistimebutyoucanstillsigninorcreateyourGuardianaccounttojointhediscussionwhenit'sbackcomments(…)CommentinghasbeendisabledatthistimebutyoucanstillsigninorcreateyourGuardianaccounttojointhediscussionwhenit'sbackBooksMusicTV&radioArt&designFilmGamesClassicalStage