鈥楽urreal鈥� is Merriam-Webster鈥檚 2016 word of the year
Searches for the word reportedly spiked in November

Searches for the word reportedly spiked in November
The Merriam-Webster 鈥渨ord of the year鈥� for 2016 is "surreal."
鈥渕arked by the intense irrational reality of a dream.鈥�
the word was chosen because it was 鈥渟ignificantly鈥� looked up more by users than in previous years.
The website also claimed it chose the word 鈥渂ecause there were multiple occasions on which this word was the one clearly driving people to their dictionary.鈥�
Throughout the year, 鈥渟urreal鈥� was searched, spiking in certain months, said Webster.
It spiked in March, when the word was used during the Brussels terror attacks. Then it spiked again in July when it was used in the descriptions of the coup attempt in Turkey and in the coverage regarding the Nice attack.
Then the largest spike hit the website in November following the U.S. election.
Below are nine more 鈥渁ccording to Webster鈥檚 website.
- Revenant
- Icon
- In Omnia Paratus
- Bigly
- Deplorable
- Irregardless
- Assumpsit
- Faute de Mieux
- Feckless