Visualize, believe, achieve: ‘Manifest’ wins Word of the Year 2024 by Cambridge Dictionary
The Cambridge Dictionary has announced "manifest" as its Word of the Year for 2024, pointing out its evolving usage and growing popularity across various platforms, Kazinform News Agency reports.
Originally, "manifest" means "to show something clearly," however this year, it has taken on a more trendy meaning: “to use methods such as visualization and affirmation to help you imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that doing so will make it more likely to happen.”
The Cambridge Dictionary #WordOfTheYear2024 is … 🥁
— Cambridge Dictionary (@CambridgeWords) November 20, 2024
"manifest" (verb)
🏆 Find out more about #manifest: https://t.co/3VZsYr3swC #Manifest #CambridgeWOTY #WordOfTheYear2024 #Manifestation #CambridgeDictionary pic.twitter.com/v281r1zjak
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “manifest was looked up almost 130,000 times on the Cambridge Dictionary website, making it one of the most viewed words of 2024.” Powered by celebrities like Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, and Simone Biles, experts noted its increasing popularity from niche self-help circles to mainstream media.
“When famous performers, star athletes, and influential entrepreneurs claim they have achieved something because they manifested it, they are using this verb in a more recent sense: to use specific practices to focus your mind on something you want, to try to make it become a reality,” Cambridge explained. Even though “manifesting” has no sort of scientific backing, its popularity continued to grow by social media influencers promoting the practice.
Other contenders for Word of the Year included brat, ecotarian, and resilience. While brat gained attention after Charli XCX’s same-name album and became a cultural sensation, Cambridge noted that its linguistic shift wasn’t significant enough to warrant inclusion in the dictionary.
However, Collins English Dictionary named brat its 2024 Word of the Year, reflecting its widespread cultural impact.
