英語作文：Word of the Year 2017

As 2017 comes to a close, it’s time for us to reflect on the words that impacted all of us this year—for better or for worse. At Dictionary.com, the Word of the Year serves as a symbol of the year’s most meaningful events and lookup trends.

Our 2017 Word of the Year Is Complicit.

Complicit means “choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others; having partnership or involvement in wrongdoing.” Or, put simply, it means being, at some level, responsible for something . . . even if indirectly.

The word complicit has sprung up in conversations this year about those who speak out against powerful figures and institutions and about those who stay silent. As we look at the cultural and political landscape, we ask: “What does it mean to be complicit in 2017?”

“I don’t know what it means to be complicit”

When the meaning of words is called into question, people turn to Dictionary.com as a source of truth. Traces of that quest for truth show up in our trending lookup data.

The first spike in searches for complicit was on March 12, with a 10,000% increase in daily average lookups. This was the day after Saturday Night Liveaired their satirical ad featuring Scarlett Johansson playing Ivanka Trump, hawking a perfume called Complicit. This scent was marketed as “The fragrance for the woman who could stop all this, but won’t.”

The largest increase in lookups for complicit this year (up over 11,000%) was on April 5. This time, the spike followed an interview with the real Ivanka Trump in which she attempted to redefine complicit. When asked by CBS This Morning’sGayle King about accusations that she and her husband Jared Kushner are complicit in the actions of her father, Ivanka Trump responded: “If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I’m complicit.”

As many of you know from looking up the definition of complicit, there’s nothing positive or good about it. In fact, being complicit is decidedly negative, as it means that a person is involved with someone or something that’s wrong. Whatever your politics, this meaning is not up for debate. Ivanka Trump herself capped off her own personal definition of complicit with “I don’t know what it means to be complicit.”