今日吃瓜

Dictionary.com, the world鈥檚 largest dictionary, chooses a word each year as a representation of 鈥渟ocial trends and global events that defined the year.鈥� This year’s word: “demure”.

Announced on , 鈥渄emure,鈥� beat out words like 鈥渂rat,鈥� referring to British pop artist Charli XCX鈥檚 album and global phenomenon, and 鈥渂rainrot,鈥� which refers to mind-numbing and, for lack of a better word, stupid, social media trends or videos.

The word, which usually refers to a very quiet, reserved individual, absolutely skyrocketed in usage following a viral TikTok by trans influencer Jools Lebron.

In a viral TikTok video in August, Lebron, captioning the clip 鈥淗ow to be demure and modest and respectful at the workplace鈥�, said she was 鈥渧ery demure, very mindful,鈥� a phrase which became the subject of thousands of videos, memes, ad campaigns, and more.

Lebron later said that she felt compelled to record the video after taking a break from her job as a cashier, when she began crying in her car. After pulling out her phone to check her makeup, she hit record and made history.

Lebron has since said that making the short video changed her life completely. She was able to start saving for her gender reassignment surgery, finance her close friend鈥檚 move, and had the opportunity to go to Los Angeles to do TV interviews about her journey.

According to dictionary.com, there was a 1,200 per cent rise in the usage of the word on digital media alone by the end of August.

The website chose the word not only because of its widespread usage but also because it represented an 鈥渋ncreased focus on public appearance and behaviour鈥� in post-pandemic working environments.

鈥淭hough the term demure has traditionally been used to describe those who are reserved, quiet or modest, a new usage has spread through social media: one used to describe refined and sophisticated appearance or behaviour in various contexts, such as at work or on a plane,鈥� a statement on the website read.