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Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2017: 'Feminism'

6 years 3 months 2 weeks ago Tuesday, December 12 2017 Dec 12, 2017 December 12, 2017 11:24 AM December 12, 2017 in News
Source: ABC
By: ABC News
Photo: ABC News

This may or may not come as a surprise, but Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2017 is "feminism."

According to ABC News in 2017, lookups for feminism increased 70 percent over 2016 on Merriam-Webster.com and spiked several times after key events.

Lexicographer Peter Sokolowski, the company's editor at large, told The Associated Press about the word of the year ahead of Tuesday's annual word reveal.

Events that spiked the lookup increase include the Women's March on Washington in January, along with sister demonstrations around the globe.

ABC News reports that heading into the year was Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and references linking her to white-clad suffragettes, along with her loss to President Donald Trump, who once boasted about grabbing women.

The "Me Too" movement rose out of Harvey Weinstein's dust, and other "silence breakers" brought down rich and famous men of media, politics and the entertainment worlds.

Feminism has been in Merriam-Webster's annual Top 10 for the last few years, including sharing word-of-the-year honors with other "isms" in 2015, according to ABC. Surreal was the word of the year last year.

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