Merriam-Webster Reveals This Year's Most Looked-Up Word

Every year Merriam-Webster releases their most-looked-up word for the year. This year’s winner? “Socialism.” The dictionary associates the word’s popularity with the rise of dark horse Democratic political candidate Bernie Sander, a self-described “democratic socialist.” The word sparked “intense” curiosity this year, reports The Guardian, with an increase in look-ups of almost 170% compared to last year. However, the word has been near the top of the look-up list for the past several years, according to the dictionary’s sources. Socialism is not the dictionary’s word of the year, however. That honor goes to the suffix, “ism.” This year marks the first time a suffix was named word of the year. The decision came after slews of look-ups for “ism” words this year, including fascism, racism, feminism, communism, capitalism, and terrorism.