March 2009

February TOP TWENTY

The most remarkable thing about the Top Twenty list for February might just be what's not on it: the word love. Typically, Valentine's Day causes a burst of romantic curiosity about love. This year, it's clear that other things are on the minds of dictionary users. Take a look at the full list.

  1. appreciate
  2. gorgeous
  3. ubiquitous
  4. pretentious
  5. awkward
  6. cynical
  7. ridiculous
  8. whether
  9. facetious
  10. apathetic
 
  1. hypocrite
  2. integrity
  3. albeit
  4. naïve
  5. quite
  6. conundrum
  7. inconvenience
  8. guarantee
  9. politic
  10. eclectic

Appreciate overtook gorgeous this month as the most looked-up word. And we're sorry to see dictionary drop from the list, but otherwise many familiar words from recent months held their positions.

One word that spiked this month (but didn't quite make it to the Top Twenty) is furlough. This synonym of layoff is given a full treatment in Words in the News.


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