play word of the year 2018 woty behind the scenes
Up Next
Title
CANCEL
word of the year 2018 woty behind the scenes
Words of the Year

2018 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

Editor Peter Sokolowski discusses 'justice' and the rest of our Word of the Year 2018 selections


How did we choose justice as our Word of the Year? Peter Sokolowski explains the data behind our decisions, and how this and the other Words of the Year reflect what was on people's minds this year.

Up next

play word of the year 2018 woty behind the scenes
2018 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

 

How we chose 'justice'

play video cynic
The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

play semantic bleaching text on white background
What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

play video between you and i or me
I vs. Me

 

'Between you and __'? Simple guidance for a tricky pronoun.

play further vs farther video
Further vs. Farther

 

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

play contractions
On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

play video websters video of 1864
Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

Games & Quizzes

See All
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?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
three adorable short hair black and tan dachshund and a domestic cat
Odd Word Out: Phrases Quiz Spot the word that doesn't fit