Dictionary.com has chosen “xenophobia” as its word of the year for 2016, after a year in which opposition to increased immigration led to surprising election results in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
According to a Monday press release from Dictionary.com, searches for the word “xenophobia” spiked on June 24, the day after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, known as Brexit.
The second biggest spike was on June 29 after President Obama gave a speech claiming the political rhetoric of soon-to-be President-elect Trump did not enforce populism but “nativism or xenophobia.”
Dictionary.com says the word “xenophobia” combines two Greek words that mean “stranger” (xenos) and “fear” or “panic” (phobo).
“Xenophobia and other words tied to global news and political rhetoric reflected the worldwide interest in the unfortunate rise of fear of otherness in 2016, making it the clear choice for Word of the Year,” said Liz McMillan, CEO of Dictionary.com, in a statement.
“While we can never know the exact reasons why xenophobia trended in our lookups this year, this reflects a desire in our users to understand the significant discourse surrounding global events.”
Dictionary.com also cited police shootings, Syria’s refugee crisis and transgender rights as a reason why “xenophobia” was chosen.
The 2015 Word of the Year was “emoji.”
