Words of The Year 2024: When Dictionaries Went Full Snark

All the major dictionaries have released their Words of the Year for 2024. And something deliciously surprising has happened this year!

In a rare turn of events, these authorities of language and vocabulary have wholeheartedly chosen the favourite weapon of the internet: sarcasm and satire.

Oxford Dictionary's 'Brain Rot' captures our collective self-mockery about endless scrolling, while Dictionary.com's choice of 'Demure' drips with irony.

Collins Dictionary jumped into the fray with 'Brat,' and Macquarie Dictionary went full tech critique with 'Enshittification.' For the first time, it seems the world's language authorities aren't just documenting our words – they're joining in on our cultural eye-roll.

Do you remember the words of the previous years? Back in those days, these words implied pretty straight-forward meanings. Not this year! This year’s words of the year proudly wear the hat of digital cynicism. These aren’t just words, they are a rebellion against boring societal expectations, a protest against our collective downfall. Each one of these words have been chosen with a knowing wink at how we're all processing our modern existence through layers of irony.

Brain Rot Meets Enshittifcation

On one hand when the Oxford lexicographers ( and the general public. This year, the vote was open to the public) awarded Brain Rot the coveted word of the year title, Macquarie Dictionary chose Brain Rot’s brother from another mother, ‘Enshittification’.

Brain Rot isn’t a new coinage. In 1854 Henry David Thoreau first used the word to denote society’s tendency of reducing complex issues to black and white judgement having no nuance. The same word has evolved now, but it still retains the core essence. GenZ and Gen Alpha have now repurposed the word to mock their own meaningless scrolling on their phones.

Oxford’s choice is particularly fascinating because of the fact that young people use the same platforms that are allegedly causing brain rot - to spread awareness of brain rot. It’s like posting on Facebook that Facebook is bad. This is a perfect example of how modern internet culture processes criticism through layers of irony.

Now contrast this word with Macquarie’s word of the year, ‘Enshittification’. Enshittiifcation is the grumpy older cousin of Brain Rot. While Brain Rot is young people’s way of confessing to their own undoing, Enshittification is a direct criticism of the practice of luring users (mostly of tech products) with quality only for that quality to deteriorate eventually. Tech critic, Cory Doctorow was the one who coined the term.

While 'brain rot' is self-deprecating Gen Z humor about mindless scrolling, 'enshittification' is a calculated takedown of why we're scrolling through increasingly worse content in the first place. It's two sides of the same digital coin – one laughing at the symptoms, the other naming the disease. Together, they tell the story of 2024's digital discontent: users are well aware they're consuming junk content (brain rot) on increasingly junky platforms (enshittification), and they're using everything from memes to militant terminology to express their feelings about it.

Brat Meets Demure

Coming to Collins Dictionary, Brat is the word of the year. And no, the meaning of this brat differs from the traditional meaning.

Traditionally brat has carried a negative connotation. It largely means “an ill-mannered or impolite person, especially a child.”

However, thanks to the Charli XCX album of the same name, ‘brat’ now carries a positive connotation. The word has been reclaimed as a badge of honor, particularly among young women who are unapologetically confident and self-assured. It's evolved from an insult into a celebration of assertiveness – a linguistic middle finger to expectations of demure femininity. (Yes we intentionally used the word, ‘demure’).

This new meaning reflects a broader cultural shift of fighting against the outdated societal norms. It’s a testament to the unspoken and underrepresented carried on people - especially women - to do exactly what the society considers “bad” and be unapologetic about it.

Now contrast this with Dictionary dot com’s word of the year, demure. If 'brat' got a rebellious makeover, 'demure' – Dictionary.com's word of the year – got a complete ironic overhaul. The traditional meaning of demure ('modest, reserved, coy') has been deliciously subverted by internet culture into its exact opposite.

TikToker Jools Lebron is the one who redefined the word. In many satirical videos, Lebron had advised their viewers how to stay “very demure, very mindful” in various stressful situations. Initially, Lebron’s usage of the word would feel innocuous. Like when they advise their female viewers to reach the airport “very early, very on time, very considerate, very demure”. But when they go to say that one can be demure in a Las Vegas strip club, it becomes clear that they mock the traditional gender norms where women are expected to be demure.

The contrast is perfect: while 'brat' transformed from an insult into a proud declaration of assertiveness, 'demure' flipped from a praise of modesty into a tongue-in-cheek commentary on being anything but modest. Both words show how Gen Z loves playing with language, but they do it differently – 'brat' was reclaimed as a genuine positive, while 'demure' became a weapon of irony. When someone calls themselves a 'brat' in 2024, they mean it; when they call themselves 'demure,' they're probably being sarcastic.

These Words of the Year aren't just random picks – they're a whole mood. We've got 'brain rot' where Gen Z is basically saying 'yes, we know we're rotting our brains on TikTok, and we're going to joke about it while doing it anyway.' Then there's 'enshittification' calling out the very platforms we can't stop scrolling through, like that friend who complains about the party but won't leave.

'Brat' and 'demure' complete this masterpiece of modern sass – one's a former insult now worn like a crown, the other's a compliment turned into the internet's favorite inside joke. When someone calls themselves a 'brat' they're channeling main-character energy, but when they say they're being 'demure' while posting their most chaotic content... well, that's peak 2024 humor.

What do these words tell us about 2024? We're all extremely online, increasingly cynical, and processing it all through layers of irony and satire. The dictionaries didn't just pick words this year – they documented our collective eye-roll at modern existence. And honestly? That's kind of perfect.