Dictionary.com names 'complicit' word of the year and credits Ivanka Trump

The word beat out terms like 'global warming' and 'white supremacist'

Dictionary.com has named "complicit" its word of the year, in a sign of the term's rising popularity under the Trump administration.

According to the online dictionary site, “complicit” means “choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others," or "having partnership or involvement in wrongdoing”. The word represents the year's most important events, as well as its most-searched terms, the site said in a blog post.

Dictionary.com announced its decision in a tweet, writing: “We're so excited to announce that the Word of the Year is covfefe! JUST KIDDING! But it is complicit.”

The joke is a reference to when Donald Trump tweeted the nonsense word “covfefe” earlier this year, sparking confusion online.

While many people also associate the word “complicit” with the Trump administration, Dictionary.com maintains it is relevant to many news events of the past year. In fact, they claim it was often visible in the actions of people who refused to be complicit: The people who spoke up about sexual harassment and assault, or the NFL players who knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality.

“Our choice for Word of the Year is as much about what is visible as it is about what is not,” the site said in a blog post. “It’s a word that reminds us that even inaction is a type of action. The silent acceptance of wrongdoing is how we’ve gotten to this point. We must not let this continue to be the norm. If we do, then we are all complicit.”

"Complicit" beat out words like "global warming" and "climate change" for the prize, according to Dictionary.com. After the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, words like "nazi", "neo-nazi", "anti-fascist", and "antifa" also became top contenders.

Searches for “complicit” spiked in March of this year, when Saturday Night Live aired a sketch suggesting first daughter Ivanka Trump was complicit in her father’s agenda. The sketch took the form of an advertisement for the fictional “Complict” perfume, with the tagline: “The fragrance for the woman who can stop all this. But won’t.”

Day later, Ms Trump told CBS’s Gayle King that she “do[esn’t] know what it means to be complicit”.

“If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I’m complicit,” she said. Searches for “complicit” spiked 11,000 per cent.

Searches for the term jumped again in October, when Republican Senator Jeff Flake claimed he would “not be complicit” in the president’s agenda.

Announcing that he would not seek another term in office, Mr Flake declared that “politics can make us silent when we should speak, and silence can equal complicity”.

He added: “I have children and grandchildren to answer to, and so, Mr. President, I will not be complicit.”