Cambridge Dictionary makes ‘manifest’ their word of the year 2024

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Manifesto.

Verb.

“To use methods like visualization and affirmation to help you imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that this will make it more likely to happen.”

Essentially wanting to accomplish something through the power of positive thinking.

The word has been named Word of the Year 2024 by Cambridge Dictionary, following a wave of celebrity-inspired popularity on social media.

It was searched almost 130,000 times on the website Cambridge Dictionary website this year, with mentions gaining traction on TikTok and other social media.

The word as an adjective meaning “easily noticed or obvious” and as a verb meaning “to show something clearly by signs or actions” dates back to at least the 13th century in English; but the dictionary’s decision to choose it as Word of the Year rests on its newest meaning as a verb.

“In 2024, the word manifesto jumped from being used primarily in the self-help community and on social media to being widely mentioned in mainstream media,” according to Cambridge Dictionary.

“When famous artists, star athletes, and influential entrepreneurs claim that they have accomplished something because they have manifested it, they are using this verb in a more recent sense: using specific practices to focus your mind on something you want, to try to make it a reality . become reality.”

Singer for example Dua Lipa has credited her with success – including headlining Glastonbury this year – to manifest. Another celebrity who spoke about manifesting success this year was American Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, and fans of Sabrina Timmermancalled her a “manifesting queen” for her performance with Taylor Swift on stage during the Eras tour.

“When we choose a Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year we have three considerations: user data, zeitgeist and language,” says Wendalyn Nichols, Cambridge Dictionary’s Publishing Manager. “Manifest won this year because it has significantly increased in searches, vastly expanded its use across all types of media and shows how the meaning of a word can change over time.”

The dangers of pseudoscience

However, this scientifically unproven practice is controversial in its own way.

Sander van der Linden, professor of social psychology at the University of Cambridge, warned that it had no scientific validity.

“Manifesting is what psychologists call ‘magical thinking,’ or the general illusion that specific mental rituals can change the world around us,” says van der Linden. “Manifesting has become extremely popular during the pandemic on TikTok with billions of views, including the popular 3 -6-9 method, which involves writing down your wishes three times in the morning, six times in the afternoon and nine times before bed.”

She continued: “This procedure promotes obsessive and compulsive behavior with no observable benefits. But can we really blame people for trying when prominent celebrities have openly ‘manifested’ their success?”

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“There is good research into the value of positive thinking, self-affirmation and goal setting… However, it is crucial to understand the difference between the power of positive thinking and moving reality with your mind – the former is healthy, while the latter is pseudoscience.”

Close, but no cigar

Cambridge Dictionary also shared the words that were strong contenders for the 2024 Word of the Year, including ‘brat‘, Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year (“Although this term is used as an adjective (Charlie XCX named Kamala Harris bratnot a brat) is linguistically interesting, reversing a negative term to use it in a defiantly positive way is not an unusual way we use language, and it does not amount to a new meaning that would enter the dictionary”) ; ‘ecotarian‘, which “reflects the growing movement towards environmentally conscious living”; And ‘resistance‘, reflecting “the strength and adaptability needed in challenging times” (“There’s not much to say about it linguistically though.”).

They also revealed some of the words they’ve started following this year:

• Quishing: the QR code phishing scam.

• Resenteeism: to continue doing your job, but hates it. This mix of ‘hatred’ and ‘absenteeism’ appears in corporate journalism.

• Gymfluencer: a social media influencer whose content focuses on fitness or bodybuilding.

• Cocktail party problem (also cocktail party effect): the difficulty of focusing on one voice when there are multiple speakers in the room. This term from audiology is now used in reference to AI.

• Vampire: a vampire device or vampire device is a device that consumes energy even when not in use. This is a new adjective meaning of an existing word.

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Additional Resources • Cambridge Dictionary