“Justice” has been selected as Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year. Behind the uptick in searches for the word is the staggering amount of news coverage of the Justice Department as well as its focus in national debates throughout the year, the publisher explained in a press release. Social and criminal justice have been particularly hot topics in 2018, driving up public interest in the word. Speculation quickly grew over Vice President Mike Pence’s potential authorship of the editorial, since the rather uncommon word is known to be one of his favorites. For Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, it’s a sign that words matter.

Source: Huffington Post December 17, 2018 14:26 UTC