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Words of the Year

2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

Editor Peter Sokolowski talks about 'surreal' and the rest of our Word of the Year 2016 selections


How did we choose surreal as our Word of the Year for 2016? Peter Sokolowski explains the data behind our decisions, and what that tells us about what people were thinking this year.

Don't miss our in-depth look at surreal and our gallery of top trending words from 2016.

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play peter_talk_about_word_of_the_year_2016
2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

 

How we chose 'surreal'

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Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

 

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

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i.e. vs. e.g.

 

Often used, often confused. Here's some guidance and insight.

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Is It 'Hanger' or 'Hangar'?

 

How to remember which is which

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Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary

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Further vs. Farther

 

They started as same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.

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How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

 

And is one way more correct than the others?

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
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Blossom Pick the best words!
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The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
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What’s on the Menu? Sink your teeth into these questions about food.
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