The New Oxford American Dictionary mulled over pages’ worth of new candidates for the 2010 Word of the Year. Although the technology sector contributed a considerable number of terms to 2009’s field of contenders, this year seemed more heavily influenced by politics, the economy, and current events with words like “Tea Party,” “bankster,” “double-dip” and “top kill.” Technology did manage to chip in with words like “webisode,” “crowdsourcing” and “retweet.”
So, which new word garnered the top spot? “Refudiate” – a word coined by controversial U.S. politician Sarah Palin – was bestowed the title of 2010 Word of the Year by the lexicographers at Oxford. The word, a verb “used loosely to mean ‘reject,’” resulted from a blending of the words “refute” and “repudiate.”
For a complete list of the words considered for the 2010 Word of the Year along with their definitions, have a look at this article from the Oxford University Press blog.
