Trendpills
Oxford University Press has signaled that its 2025 Word of the Year will reflect the profound and rapid integration of technology into daily life, focusing on the theme of humanity's ongoing transformation in a tech-saturated world. Each year, OUP lexicographers select a word or expression that has captured the public's imagination and reflects the prevailing mood and preoccupations.
The selection for 2025 is set to explore concepts surrounding artificial intelligence and our evolving digital identities. According to OUP, discussions this year have been dominated by phenomena such as AI-generated influencers, deepfake celebrities, and virtual companions. The criteria for the Oxford Word of the Year highlight how these advancements are prompting fundamental questions about authenticity and what it means to be human in an age where the lines between online and offline reality are increasingly blurred. The final word will be chosen to encapsulate this significant cultural shift.
The process of selecting the Word of the Year is a meticulous one, involving the analysis of vast language data to identify new terms and track shifts in the usage of existing words. This linguistic snapshot aims to provide a piece of social history. The selection is a tradition that has chronicled significant cultural moments through language over the past two decades. The history of Oxford's Word of the Year selections includes memorable past winners that reflect their respective eras, such as 'selfie' (2013), 'vax' (2021), the 'face with tears of joy' emoji (2015), 'goblin mode' (2022), and 'rizz' (2023).
As society grapples with the implications of advanced AI and digital interaction, Oxford's upcoming announcement is highly anticipated. The chosen word will join a long list of terms that have defined their time. It will not only represent a linguistic trend but also serve as a benchmark for understanding the key cultural shifts of the year, a practice also undertaken by other major dictionaries. The final selection will aim to summarize a year dominated by conversations about technology's deep and personal impact on our lives.
