Misogyny was among the top search terms the morning after Donald Trump’s presidential victory
After the election of reality television host and real estate mogul Donald J. Trump, there has been a furious online search for answers as to how, why, and what this means for the future.
This search has included a rush to the dictionary for terms that have come up frequently during the election.
Merriam-Webster, a nearly two-centuries-old (now online) dictionary, has released a list of the most searched words post-election, and boy, are they revealing.
Misogyny, according to the dictionary, is their biggest trending word of the week. The term, which means “a hatred of women,” has come up frequently during the campaign, as allegations of Trump’s sexual misconduct and earlier comments he made insulting women on their appearance have come to light. Merriam-Webster wrote:
Misogyny was among the top lookups on November 9, 2016, the morning after Donald Trump’s presidential victory. The word spiked still higher on November 10, as the word appeared repeatedly in news articles and on social media.
Other terms that Merriam Webster have topped their recent searches are equally unflattering: fascism, bigot, xenophobe, racism, socialism, resurgence, and xenophobia.
Many of these words have been used by commentators and critics to portray the Trump campaign, which has conspicuously used fear of both Muslims and undocumented Mexicans living in the United States to garner votes.
“Socialism” is the odd man out, but was likely made famous again by the candidature of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to the leadership of the Democratic Party. He lost, but the term socialism has found a resurgence in American politics, and for many (particularly Sanders’ supporters) is no longer a dirty word.
This isn’t the first time Merriam-Webster has shone a spotlight on language used during the current election. During the candidate debates, Trump, in particular, used archaic and seemingly out-of-place words that had viewers scrambling to the online dictionary to see if “braggadocious” was indeed a word.
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