Word of the year: Dictionary.com chooses 'identity'

Dictionary.com said identity brought together some of the most popular searches and new entries of the past year

Dictionary.com has chosen “identity” as its word of the year.

Drawing on events in the past year the online dictionary, founded in 1995, claimed identity brought together some of the most popular searches and new entries to the website in the past year.

“Our data indicated a growing interest in words related to identity, as people encountered new terms throughout the year based on events tied to gender, sexuality, race, and other key issues,” said Liz McMillan, Dictionary.com CEO.

Citing Caitlin Jenner, the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the US and racial identity, the online dictionary noted more people than ever before were having conversations about identity – and what it means.

The site noted a surge in people searching for the meanings behinds words such as transgender, cisgender, omnisexual and asexual.

“Identity” is defined as “the state or fact of remaining the same one or ones, as under varying aspects or conditions”. Last year’s winner was “exposure”.