The most frequently looked-up word in December, after effect and affect, was the American Idol-inspired insipid.

Integrity was named the No. 1 Word of the Year, but it came in second in December, after insipid, Simon Cowell’s acid description of one contestant’s performance. Concerns about avian flu and confirmation hearings kept pandemic and filibuster high on the list at Nos. 5 and 8, respectively, while the still slightly mysterious inept (why did people look that word up so much?) came in at No. 11, and Judith Miller’s contempt came in at 14.

By the way, the four Words of the Year that didn’t crack the Top Twenty in December were refugee, tsunami, conclave, and levee.

The discussion about how to refer to the holidays (or perhaps just how to spell one of them) had its effect as well, as Hanukkah, agnostic, and secular all made the list.

Finally, on the blog watch, just when we thought interest in 2004’s Word of the Year might be fading, blog made it back to No. 13 from its previous No. 17 ranking, so its slide from the Top Twenty list may be some way off.