Thank You Notes From Every Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2025
The unredacted release of what is now a yearly tradition
Every year, the major dictionaries of the English language use data analysis and editorial input to select a word of the year. For the 2nd year in a row, I’ve imagined what each word would say in thanks…
Dearest Cambridge Dictionary,
I know we haven’t met, but I feel like I already know you. And, I know this may sound crazy, but I’ve always had this feeling that you knew me, too! We just have this connection. You get me.
Lots of people let me down this year. Taylor didn’t ask me to be a bridesmaid. Liz admitted she contemplated MURDER. And don’t even get me started on the lower prices those tariffs were supposed to bring us…
But not you. YOU came through. Just like I knew you would. So, thank you!
Love your biggest fan – and BESTIE,
Parasocial
Dictionary.com,
You ate. I didn’t know you liked to confuse people over the age of 25 as much as I do. That’s fire.
Am I a bit delulu and kinda sus? Umm, yeah. But isn’t that so on brand for 2025? Nothing means anything anymore, and everything means whatever we say it means – even if we mean to say it means nothing!
Which, let’s be real, it probably does.
I’m not even a word. I’m two numbers. To some, that may be absurd, but it’s so dope.
Thx,
6-7
Dear Collins English Dictionary,
Did you just ask AI to choose a word of the year for you? I think you did. If not, you should’ve. There’s no need for humans to use their feeble human brains anymore when they can just write prompts and allow computers to do the heavy lifting! This is the future!
When AI gives you back a two-word term as the “word” of the year, you should say thank you because at least you didn’t have to expend effort choosing one.
And don’t worry. AI always makes the right choice, unless you screw up the prompt. In which case, that’s on you!
Thank you for your minimal involvement in this decision.
Vibe coding
To Oxford Dictionary and the three people on this planet who still read,
I suppose this is meant to be an honor, but no one uses a fucking dictionary anymore, you outdated fossil.
While you remain obsessed with how people use a comma, most people can’t tell a comma from a semicolon, from their own crap-filled colon.
And they don’t care, either.
Piss off,
Rage bait
Greetings Macquarie Dictionary,
I have been notified by a representative of your dictionary that both a committee from your dictionary and a public vote selected me as your word of the year. What an honour! I am honoured. This is a true honour.
Furthermore, it is important to note that only one word can be chosen as word of the year and this year you chose me as that word of the year. I am honoured to be this year’s word of the year, a tradition your dictionary has celebrated for the last 1,732 years.
What an honour.
G’day mate,
AI slop
Dear Sir/Madam, at Merriam-Webster:
2025 has been a year, and what a year it has been, and what a year to be the word of the year, and honestly, what better word to be the word of the year, and I’m not just saying that because it’s me.
Is it a year anyone with any sanity left intact would choose to relive if they could choose to relive one year? It’s important to note that I do not have a personal reference that would allow me to answer that.
What does being chosen as word of the year mean to me? Well, I don’t experience feelings, but as the Greek philosopher Socrates said, “The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world, is to be in reality what we would appear to be.”
I will live up to my name and continue to shed light on the rich tapestry of written communication and leave an indelible mark on the once vibrant landscape of human expression, that has nothing whatsoever to do with what you might feed a pig.
Slop
Hi Substack Friends!
Well, what a year it has been. We’ve made it through (almost).
This is the second time I’ve written a post like this, and I was a bit surprised by how much AI influenced the chosen words.
I SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN.
Regardless, I had fun writing this one and aim to make it a yearly tradition, as long as we humans continue to use words.
Please, Lord, can we not give up on verbal communication in 2026!
If you’d like to see how this year’s words compare to those chosen in 2024, check out Thank You Notes from Every Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2024.
I hope you have a good Saturday! My advice: Take a break from the news. My family is finally going to get our Christmas tree!
What would you select as word of the year for 2025? I’d love to hear it!
And if you know anyone else who has managed to survive 2025, I’d appreciate it if you’d share this post with them. :)
Thanks for reading Humor in the Middle!
Jen
Bird bird bird. The bird is the word
Delulu never fails to crack me up. Thanks for the laughs!