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'Feminism' is the Merriam Webster Word of the Year

Feminism
AP Photo/Rainmaker Photo

Plus, five runner-up words for the dumpster fire that was 2017. 

There are a lot of words and phrases we'd like to use to describe this year but, shockingly, Merriam Webster's word of the year isn't "doomsday," "Hell," or "howisthishappening?" Instead, the dictionary you use to look up words to make you smarter has unveiled that 2017's most-searched word is... feminism.

Related | Time Magazine's Person of the Year Honors 'The Silence Breakers'

Following the news that Time Magazine's Person of the Year is "the silence breakers," the fact that "feminism" is the word of the year is no shock. This has been a year of #MeToo movements and the Women's March. Of powerful men accused of sexual harassment and assault being moved to the trash bin where they belong. So, naturally, feminism is the year's biggest word, even if our President doesn't know what the word means. For those needing a refresher, by the way, today's definitions of feminism read: "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes" and "organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests."

Congratulations to feminism and, as we celebrate, let's all sit back and enjoy these official and unofficial runner-up words of the year that made 2017 the dumpster fire it is.

Complicit -- "Helping to commit a crime or do wrong in some way."

Apocalyptic -- "foreboding imminent disaster or final doom."

Oligarchy -- "A government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes."

Distraught -- "Agitated with doubt or mental conflict or pain."

Dotard --"A person in his or her dotage" (dotage is "a state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise and alertness)."

The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff and Wayne Brady

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