Coming into 2024, no one would've guessed THIS would become the sensation of the year.
The Collins Dictionary has just announced that "brat" is its Word of the Year. They define "brat" as "characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude."
This was inspired by the Charli XCX album "Brat", which came out in June. It led to the "brat summer" phenomenon, along with several "brat" memes.
Charli describes brat like this: "You're just like that girl who's a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes.
"She like feels herself, but then also maybe has a breakdown but kind of like parties through it . . . is very honest . . . is very blunt, and a little bit volatile." (You can find a clip of that, here.)
The other words that were in the running this year are:
1. Brainrot (noun): An inability to think clearly caused by excessive consumption of low-quality online content.
2. Era (noun): A period of one's life or career that's of a distinctive character.
3. Looksmaxxing (noun): Attempting to maximize the attractiveness of one's physical appearance.
4. Rawdogging (noun): The act of undertaking an activity without preparation, support, or equipment.
5. Anti-tourism (noun): Opposition to or action against large-scale tourism.
6. Delulu (adjective): Utterly mistaken or unrealistic in one's ideas or expectations.
7. Romantasy (noun): A literary genre combining romantic fiction with fantasy.
8. Supermajority (noun): A large majority in a legislative assembly that enables a government to pass laws without effective scrutiny.
9. Yapping (noun): Talking at length, especially about inconsequential matters.
(USA Today / Collins Dictionary / Today)