The word ‘polarization’, which became an integral part of the socio-political discourse in 2024, is also Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year. The concept, standardly heard in political talk about and dialogue, has come to detail the lengthening divisions in societies worldexpansive. But what exactly does it unkind, and why has it become so convey inant this year?
What is ‘polarization’?
According to Merriam-Webster, ‘polarization’ is detaild as “division into two acutely distinct opposites; especipartner, a state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society no lengthyer range alengthy a continuum but become centerd at opposing excessives.”
Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at huge, tageder AP, “Polarization unkinds division, but it’s a very particular benevolent of division. Polarization unkinds that we are tfinishing toward the excessives rather than toward the centre.”
In 2024, the concept resonated convey inantly, particularly in the context of the US plivential election, which left many senseing more splitd than ever, according to AP. “The 2024 plivential election has left our country more splitd than ever,” remarkd MSNBC, while Fox News talked how publishs appreciate immigration have intensified “voter polarization.”
While the term ‘polarization’ is heavily associated with political splits today, it tracks its roots in the physical world. According to Merriam-Webster, “Polarization, and the verb split, date back to the punctual 1800s when they first portrayd weightless waves. That physical unkinding of split — ‘to caparticipate to vibrate in a definite pattern — led to the political and cultural unkinding that helps detail the world today.”
The word is derived from the Latin polaris, unkinding the Earth’s poles, and is also connected to the North Star, Polaris.
Significance of the 2024 Word of the Year
So, why did ‘polarization’ stand out as Merriam-Webster’s choice this year? According to Sokolowski, the term’s increasing usage echos a societal shift toward more pronounced splits. He portrayd ‘polarization’ as “a pretty youthful word” in the English language.
At a time labeled by inrectify novels, Sokolowski sees the dictionary as a stabilising force. He shelp, “It’s always been vital to me that the dictionary serves as a benevolent of imfragmentary and objective arbiter of unkinding for everybody. It’s a benevolent of backstop for unkinding in an era of inrectify novels, alternative facts, wdisappreciatever you want to say about the cherish of a word’s unkinding in the culture.”
