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'Feminism' Beats Out 'Dotard' to Win Merriam Webster’s Word of the Year

© AP Photo / Peter MorganThis Monday, Dec. 11, 2017, photo taken in New York shows the word feminism listed in the dictionary
This Monday, Dec. 11, 2017, photo taken in New York shows the word feminism listed in the dictionary - Sputnik International
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This year’s key events, involving the #MeToo movement and the Women’s March in January, have pushed the word “feminism” to the victory podium.

The word "feminism," which has Latin roots, was a top lookup throughout the year, and has increased 70 percent over 2016, according to Merriam-Webster’s editor Peter Sokolowski. The #MeToo movement gave a strong impulse to the word, as many women broke their silence and started sharing sexual harassment stories, which has resulted in the take down of powerful and influential men from the entertainment world, starting with notorious film producer Harvey Weinstein.

READ MORE: Scandal Without End: Harvey Weinstein Now Faces Sexual Battery Lawsuit

The Women’s March on Washington in January was organized with an eye to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration as President of the United States due to his statements, largely considered as anti-women. Another spike in the lookups has reportedly occurred after Kellyanne Conway, who successfully ran Trump’s presidential campaign, delivered a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, and shared her understanding of the word "feminism" with the audience.

"It's difficult for me to call myself a feminist in the classic sense because it seems to be very anti-male and it certainly seems to be very pro-abortion. I'm neither anti-male nor pro-abortion," she said. "There's an individual feminism, if you will, that you make your own choices…. I look at myself as a product of my choices, not a victim of my circumstances. And to me, that's what conservative feminism is all about."

© AP Photo / Jose Luis MaganaWomen with bright pink hats and signs begin to gather for a protest against Donald Trump's presidency, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Earlier this year, US media reported that Soros contributed $246 million to partners of the Women's March.
Women with bright pink hats and signs begin to gather for a protest against Donald Trump's presidency, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Earlier this year, US media reported that Soros contributed $246 million to partners of the Women's March. - Sputnik International
Women with bright pink hats and signs begin to gather for a protest against Donald Trump's presidency, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Earlier this year, US media reported that Soros contributed $246 million to partners of the Women's March.

READ MORE:Organizers Estimate 500,000 at Women's March on Washington

Merriam-Webster has revealed that it had nine runners-up: "complicit," which means "helping to commit crime," driven, reportedly, by politics; "recuse," in reference to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Russia investigation; "empathy" was one of the top lookups for no apparent reason; "dotard" – a long-forgotten word, which went viral after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un called Trump "a mentally deranged US dotard."

The next one, "Syzygy," is defined as "the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies (such as the sun, moon, and earth during a solar or lunar eclipse) in a gravitational system", and spiked after the supermoon; "gyro" got popular after the song called "I don’t know how to pronounce Gyro" aired on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and means "a sandwich especially of lamb and beef, vegetables and yogurt sauce on pita bread."

"Federalism" entered the top searches after debates over the Affordable Care Act in Congress; "hurricane" – as terrifying storms were battering the islands, and, finally "gaffe," which spiked following a very awkward moment at the Oscars when a movie was mistakenly announced as the best picture winner.

READ MORE: 'That's a New One': Merriam-Webster Mocks Trump Over Mistake in Twitter Post

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