Here's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2023

It goes with 'authentic,' while Cambridge Dictionary chooses 'hallucinate'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 27, 2023 1:30 AM CST
Updated Dec 2, 2023 5:05 PM CST
2 More Words Chosen for 'Word of the Year'
This image released by Merriam-Webster shows an online dictionary entry for authentic.   (Merriam-Webster via AP)

In an age of deepfakes and post-truth, as artificial intelligence rose and Elon Musk turned Twitter into X, the Merriam-Webster word of the year for 2023 is "authentic," the AP reports. Authentic cuisine. Authentic voice. Authentic self. Authenticity as artifice. Lookups for the word are routinely heavy on the dictionary company's site but were boosted to new heights throughout the year, editor at large Peter Sokolowski told the AP in an exclusive interview. "We see in 2023 a kind of crisis of authenticity," he said ahead of Monday's announcement of this year's word. "What we realize is that when we question authenticity, we value it even more."

Sokolowski and his team don't delve into the reasons people head for dictionaries and websites in search of specific words. Rather, they chase the data on lookup spikes and world events that correlate. This time around, there was no particularly huge boost at any given time but a constancy to the increased interest in "authentic." This was the year of artificial intelligence, for sure (and "AI" was chosen by another dictionary as word of the year), but also a moment when ChatGPT-maker OpenAI suffered a leadership crisis. Taylor Swift and Prince Harry chased after authenticity in their words and deeds. Musk himself, at February's World Government Summit in Dubai, urged the heads of companies, politicians, ministers, and other leaders to "speak authentically" on social media by running their own accounts.

Cambridge Dictionary also recently chose its word of the year: "hallucinate," the Guardian reports. This one can also be tied to AI: While the word's original definition is to "seem to see, hear, feel, or smell" something that doesn't actually exist, it now also has a meaning that relates to artificial intelligence. When AI systems like ChatGPT "hallucinate," they produce false information. "The new meaning gets to the heart of why people are talking about AI," the dictionary says on its website. "Generative AI is a powerful tool but one we're all still learning how to interact with safely and effectively—this means being aware of both its potential strengths and its current weaknesses." (Click for the rest of Merriam-Webster's words of the year for 2023.)

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