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Very cutesy. Digital dictionary, Dictionary.com, has officially revealed their 2024 word of the year: "Demure."
"Demure" had a very big year after TikTok creator Jools Lebron went viral for her videos using her signature phrase, "very demure, very mindful," sometimes also adding "very cutesy," while giving advice to followers. In one video, Lebron shared "how to be demure at work," explaining, "See how I come to work? Very demure. I do my makeup, I lay my wig, I do a little braid. I flatiron my hair," continuing on, "very demure, very mindful. Let's not forget to be demure divas."
Following Jools' viral videos, other creators began posting their own "very demure, very mindful, very cutesy" videos, using the phrases in their own real-life situations.
Dictionary.com defines "demure" as an adjective, "characterized by shyness and modesty; reserved" and "affectedly or coyly decorous, sober, or sedate." The online dictionary says that the now-viral word saw a 1200% increase in usage in digital web media and had 200 times more searches on their site. Very mindful.
Other words to make Dictionary.com's Word of the Year shortlist include Brainrot, Brat, Extreme Weather, Midwest Nice and Weird, crediting Charli XCX for the "brat" spike in usage and "rebranding."