‘Youthquake’ is the Word of the Year 2017 – Oxford Dictionaries1 min read

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PICTURE POSED BY MODEL File photo dated 14/03/07 of a man reading a copy of the Oxford Dictionary of English. "Youthquake" has been named as Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year following in the footsteps of "omnishambles", "post-truth" and "selfie" to have been awarded the accolade. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday December 15, 2017. The word - defined as "a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people" saw a fivefold increase in usage between 2016 and 2017 in part due to the general election and the reported increasing mobilisation of young voters. See PA story SOCIAL Youthquake. Photo credit should read: Ian Nicholson/PA Wire

“Youthquake” has just been crowned as WORD OF THE YEAR 2017 by the renowned Oxford Dictionaries.

The blend between “youth” and “earthquake” generated the noun translated into: “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people”.

Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Dictionaries, said: ‘Youthquake may not seem like the most obvious choice for Word of the Year, and it’s true that it’s yet to land firmly on American soil, but strong evidence in the UK calls it out as a word on the move.(1.)

The word “youthquake” also described  New Zealand’s increasing youth engagement in politics there. The country’s new Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, is the world’s youngest female leader at 37.

Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Dictionaries, described the term as a less obvious choice for Word of the Year in a statement, but asserted it to be the right one, calling it a “word on the move.”

369 Manifestation Code

The other words in this year’s shortlist were: “antifa,” “broflake,” “newsjacking,” “white fragility,” “gorpcore,” “kompromat,” “Milkshake Duck,” and “unicorn”.

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