Word of the Year 2016 - Oxford Languages

Post-truth is an adjective defined as 'relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public ... WordoftheYear2016 WordoftheYear WordoftheYear2016:Shortlist PressQueries WordoftheYear2016 Aftermuchdiscussion,debate,andresearch,theOxfordDictionariesWordoftheYear2016is…post-truth.   Post-truthisanadjectivedefinedas‘relatingtoordenotingcircumstancesinwhichobjectivefactsarelessinfluentialinshapingpublicopinionthanappealstoemotionandpersonalbelief’. Whywasthischosen?   Theconceptof post-truth hasbeeninexistenceforthepastdecade,butOxfordDictionarieshasseenaspikeinfrequencythisyearinthecontextoftheEUreferendumintheUnitedKingdomandthepresidentialelectionintheUnitedStates.Ithasalsobecomeassociatedwithaparticularnoun,inthephrase post-truthpolitics. Post-truthin2016   Post-truth hasgonefrombeingaperipheraltermtobeingamainstayinpoliticalcommentary,nowoftenbeingusedbymajorpublicationswithouttheneedforclarificationordefinitionintheirheadlines.   ObamafoundedISIS.GeorgeBushwasbehind9/11.Welcometopost-truthpoliticshttps://t.co/QYrx76krF0 —TheEconomist(@TheEconomist)November1,2016   'We'veenteredapost-truthworldandthere'snogoingback'https://t.co/FyCdlybOQ6 —TheIndependent(@Independent)November8,2016   Thetermhasmovedfrombeingrelativelynewtobeingwidelyunderstoodinthecourseofayear–demonstratingitsimpactonthenationalandinternationalconsciousness.Theconceptof post-truth hasbeensimmeringforthepastdecade,butOxfordshowsthewordspikinginfrequencythisyearinthecontextoftheBrexitreferendumintheUKandthepresidentialelectionintheUS,andbecomingassociatedoverwhelminglywithaparticularnoun,inthephrase post-truthpolitics.   Abriefhistoryof post-truth   Thecompoundword post-truth exemplifiesanexpansioninthemeaningoftheprefixpost-thathasbecomeincreasinglyprominentinrecentyears.Ratherthansimplyreferringtothetimeafteraspecifiedsituationorevent–asin post-war or post-match –theprefix in post-truth hasameaningmorelike‘belongingtoatimeinwhichthespecifiedconcepthasbecomeunimportantorirrelevant’.Thisnuanceseemstohaveoriginatedinthemid-20thcentury,informationssuchas post-national (1945)and post-racial (1971).   Post-truth seemstohavebeenfirstusedinthismeaningina1992essaybythelateSerbian-AmericanplaywrightSteveTesichin TheNation magazine.ReflectingontheIran-ContrascandalandthePersianGulfWar,Tesichlamentedthat‘we,asafreepeople,havefreelydecidedthatwewanttoliveinsomepost-truthworld’.Thereisevidenceofthephrase‘post-truth’beingusedbeforeTesich’sarticle,butapparentlywiththetransparentmeaning‘afterthetruthwasknown’,andnotwiththenewimplicationthattruthitselfhasbecomeirrelevant.   Abook, ThePost-truthEra,byRalphKeyesappearedin2004,andin2005AmericancomedianStephenColbertpopularizedaninformalwordrelatingtothesameconcept: truthiness,definedbyOxfordDictionariesas‘thequalityofseemingorbeingfelttobetrue,evenifnotnecessarilytrue’. Post-truth extendsthatnotionfromanisolatedqualityofparticularassertionstoageneralcharacteristicofourage. Theshortlist   WhichwordsmadetheWordoftheYear2016shortlist?   Weusecookiestoenhanceyourexperienceonourwebsite.Thiswebsiteusescookiesthatprovidetargetedadvertisingandwhichtrackyouruseofthiswebsite.Byclicking‘continue’orbycontinuingtouseourwebsite,youareagreeingtoouruseofcookies.Youcanchangeyourcookiesettingsatanytime.Tofindoutmoreabouthowweusecookies,seeourcookiespolicyContinue