Even if you weren’t on the internet that much in 2024, you must’ve heard about “brat” and “demure” — Word of the Year (WOTY) picks of the Collins Dictionary and Dictionary.com respectively. These were so much in the zeitgeist, that multiple other sources included them in their shortlists: Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and Cambridge Dictionary.
Before Charli XCX’s hit album, “brat” described a badly mannered child, but now it refers to someone “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude,” according to Collins. Dictionary.com explains its WOTY “demure” as “characterized by shyness and modesty; reserved.” The word, however, was also rediscovered thanks to TikToker Jools Lebron who used it in a satirical context. It’s hard to pinpoint what the new meaning of “demure” is. It can range from being shy as an act and showing sophistication to curating one’s public persona, etc.
On the surface, you may think that “brat” and “demure” could not be more far from one another. But they share something beyond just the change of meanings. Both words stand for the public need for authenticity and genuine self-expression. Breaking tight behavioral norms (like wearing, arguably, too much makeup) just comes with it.
Other words related to the tendency: social battery (Macquarie Dictionary, a dictionary of Australian English), looksmaxxing (Collins).
Btw, want to test your knowledge of 2024’s trends? Take our viral moments quiz.
Merriam-Webster’s 2024 WOTY is polarization — “division into two sharply distinct opposites,” according to the dictionary. It’s not a surprising pick, considering that the year was marked by many disruptive elections and policy decisions, especially in the US.
This, however, is not a recent development. One of the major demographic (which also means consumer) trends is the growing separation between young men’s and women’s worldviews. At large, this means that appealing to your audience as a whole can become even more challenging. At the same time, this can pull very loyal customers to smaller brands that share their views.
Other words related to the tendency: weird (Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster), democracy (Merriam-Webster).
Let’s start with the definitions. While “manifest” is firmly ingrained into popular culture for substituting “you dream it — you got it”, “brain rot” means “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.”
We’d argue Oxford’s WOTY “brain rot” and Cambridge Dictionary’s “manifest” are two sides of one coin. Both are reactions people can have to an unpleasant reality and refer to creating an imaginary one and plunging into it. That said, “brain rot” is a more passive “flight” or “freeze” type of response while “manifest” is not quite like “fight,” but a more active one, for sure.
Other words related to the tendency: cognitive (Merriam-Webster), ensh*ttification (Macquarie Dictionary’s WOTY), right to disconnect (Macquarie Dictionary), romantasy (Oxford, Collins), delulu and era (Collins).
Although not anyone’s WOTY, “rawdogging” made it to the shortlists of both Collins and Macquarie Dictionary. This is the only neologism in our article — a word that was only recently made up. “Rawdogging” is most often used in a very narrow context — to mean enduring a long flight without any entertainment.
The existence of this word and the unique scenario for its original use goes to show that traveling and tourism are once again very prominent. So prominent, in fact, that there is a dedicated word used by people angry at the situation — anti-tourism (one of Collins’s shortlisted entries).
Hear what your audience is saying, and you’ll learn what’s on their mind. This, in turn, will help you create relatable content and address the areas your customers think about most. You can also just use 2024’s WOTYs in your marketing and messaging. Remember that your audience is searching for these words or what they represent, so they may react positively. Also, don’t hesitate to try out other trends.
If you’re competing on a global market, check out international words of the year and get on your customers’ good side, no matter the country.
