(Gray News) – “Demure,” a word that gained viral fame on TikTok has been named Dictionary.com‘s 2024 Word of the Year.
“The Word of the Year isn’t just about popular usage; it reveals the stories we tell about ourselves and how we’ve changed over the year. And for these reasons, Dictionary.com’s 2024 Word of the Year is ‘demure,’” the announcement read.
The word became a social phenomenon after viral TikToker Jools Lebron coined the phrase “very demure, very mindful” in a series of videos.
She often paired “demure” with terms like “cutesy” and “considerate” oftentimes changing the actual definition.
According to the publication, demure is defined as being shy, modest or reserved.
The original video garnered over 54 million views.
Following the viral moments, the word demure saw an astronomical 1,200% jump in digital media usage by August.
Social media buzz sent Google searches soaring, with interest spiking nearly 14 times in the week of Aug. 18.
On Dictionary.com, searches for demure were 200 times higher at the trend’s peak compared to earlier in the year, highlighting its explosion in popularity.
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