Picture us not surprised: Merriam-Webster just selected "feminism" as the word of the year.
According to the dictionary, feminism is defined as "the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes" and as "organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests."
Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large, says the word was "a top look up with a 70% increase over 2016."
Of course, searches for the word "spiked following news coverage of the Women's March on Washington, D.C. in January [...] and follow-up discussions regarding whether the march was feminism, and what kind of feminism was represented by organizers and attendees," reads the official announcement. Throwback to Kellyanne Conway talking about why she's "not a feminist."
The recent accounts of sexual harassment and assault that have dominated the news undoubtedly contributed to the spike in word searches as well, just like the productions that have dominated the entertainment industry in the past year (think The Handmaid's Tale and Wonder Woman).
According to Sokolowski, the word "recuse" was also the subject of many searches.
Let's hope that 2018 brings with it a word of the year that reflects only positivity.