Merriam-Webster crowns ‘authentic’ as word of the year

Washington – In an age where forces from artificial intelligence to Donald Trump have left Americans doubting the truth, US dictionary Merriam-Webster says that 2023’s most looked-up word was “authentic”.

The venerable publisher, whose dictionary is especially popular online, said the trend was driven by people reading and talking about AI, celebrity culture, identity and social media.

“Authentic” beat out other contenders such as “deepfake”, “rizz” (young people speak for charisma) and “coronation” for honours as the word that most often sent people to the dictionary.

Merriam-Webster said that “authentic” has several shades of meaning including “not false or imitation”, and “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character”.

“Although clearly a desirable quality, authentic is hard to define and subject to debate – two reasons it sends many people to the dictionary,” the publisher said in a news release.

It noted that celebrities such as Taylor Swift in 2023 talked about their interest in seeking an authentic voice or self.

In an article published in October, Forbes magazine said: “What makes Swift a cultural phenomenon is not only her musical prowess and versatility, but the trademark authenticity she puts on each note and verse.”

Tech tycoon Elon Musk is big on authenticity, too, or so the billionaire says.

At a world government summit in Dubai in February, the outspoken owner of X, formerly Twitter, said executives and government leaders should “speak authentically” on social media.

“I think it’s good for people to speak in their voice, as opposed to how they think they should speak,” he said. “It ends up sounding somewhat stiff and not real.”

This was Merriam-Webster’s 20th year of picking one of the half-million words it defines online as the one getting searched most often.

“Gaslighting” – emotional abuse that makes people question themselves – was 2022’s word.

In 2021, as the coronavirus pandemic raged, it was “vaccine”. AFP