A word that has been used incessantly to describe the fraught state of American politics and society is Merriam-Webster’s 2024 word of the year. That word is “polarization.” Defined as a ...

Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization”? “Polarization means division, but it’s a very specific kind of division,” said Peter Sokolowski ...

“The basic job of the dictionary is to tell the truth about words,” the Merriam-Webster editor continued. “We’ve had dictionaries of English for 420 years and it’s only been in the last ...

The definition of polarization, according to Merriam-Webster, is "division into two sharply distinct opposites … a state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society no ...

The oldest dictionary publisher in the country decreed that ‘polarization’ was the word on everyone’s lips in a year defined by the presidential election. Reporter Reporter Got a tip?