Dictionary.com wasn't doing too much when it picked its 2024 Word of the Year. One could say the website was being very mindful, very cutesy, very ... demure.
Yes, "demure" is Dictionary.com's 2024 Word of the Year, proving this pick is not like the other girls.
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"Following an in-depth analysis of data — from news headlines and social media trends to search engine insights — Dictionary.com’s lexicographers identified demure as the word that left a significant mark on conversations both online and in everyday life," the website said in a statement.
Demure, defined by Dictionary.com as “characterized by shyness and modesty; reserved,” has taken on a new meaning this year after TikToker Jools Lebron popularized the word through her many videos using the phrase, "Very demure, very mindful."
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Lebron's phrase took off across social media in early August, as she posted videos explaining how to be demure and mindful in the workplace, in the airport and basically in any other situation one may find themselves in.
“See how I look very presentable? The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job,” she said in a TikTok titled, “demure and modest and respectful at the work place,” which has accumulated over 54 million views.
“I’m very modest, I’m very mindful," she continued in her video.
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Lebron currently has more than 2.3 million followers on TikTok.
The trend quickly took over the rest of the internet, with celebrities jumping in on the "demurity" craze throughout the summer.
"Between January and the end of August, Demure saw a nearly 1,200% increase in usage in digital web media, and had 200 times more searches on Dictionary.com than it did on dates preceding August," Dictionary.com said.
Demure ousted the other words on the website's shortlist, which included brainrot, brat, extreme weather, Midwest nice and weird.
Dictionary.com isn't the only website that has announced its Word of the Year. On Nov. 20, Cambridge Dictionary crowned “manifest” as its top pick for 2024.
Oxford University Press announced last week that voting had opened for its word that encapsulates 2024. The shortlist includes: slop, romantasy, lore, brainrot, demure and dynamic pricing.
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