Merriam-Webster's word of the year doesn't often come as a surprise, and that feels especially true this year: on Nov. 29, the dictionary deemed "vaccine" its 2021 word of the year [1]. Described as an injection to "stimulate the body's immune response against a specific infectious agent or disease," among other definitions [2], interest in the word grew exponentially as researchers worked to deliver a viable COVID-19 vaccine to the public. In fact, Merriam-Webster found "vaccine" lookups grew 601 percent year over year.
Though many were relieved when the FDA authorized the Pfizer vaccine [3] for emergency use late last year, followed soon after by the Moderna vaccine [4], others were hesitant to get vaccinated due to disinformation, distrust in government, and a variety of other reasons. "The promising medical solution to the pandemic that upended our lives in 2020 also became a political argument and source of division," Merriam-Webster wrote. "The biggest science story of our time quickly became the biggest debate in our country."
In addition to "vaccine," other prominent words shared by Merriam-Webster included "insurrection," of course tied to the attack at the US Capitol on Jan. 6; "perseverance," a nod to NASA's Mars rover, which touched down on the planet on Feb. 18; and "murraya," the word that clinched Zaila Avant-garde's win [6] at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
This marks the second year Merriam-Webster has chosen a word with coronavirus ties: its 2020 word of the year [7] was simply "pandemic."