Kylie Jenner. The Bachelorette. Wiz Khalifa. The July 6–13, 2018 edition of trending words is absolutely star-studded. So let’s dive in!
Self-made
Is Kylie Jenner a self-made billionaire? That’s how Forbes labelled her this week, and it left plenty of folks curious about just what it means to be self-made. How curious? Searches rose 864,100% on Wednesday! The answer to the query, of course, is that self-made means “having succeeded in life unaided.”
Searches for the meaning of "self-made" are 📈 18,628% on https://t.co/EoMLt7nGp1 today. https://t.co/sr8Ncd7s5A
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) July 11, 2018
Twitterpated
Bachelorette fans learned a new word this week, thanks to Becca Kufrin, who asked contestant Garrett Yrigoyen if he’s still twitterpated with her during this week’s episode. Searches for the word—which means “excited or overcome by romantic feelings; smitten”—spiked 409%. If it sounds familiar, you might want to think back … way back … to childhood. Twitterpated first showed up in the movie Bambi in 1942.
Haboob
No, it’s not a monster that hides in your closet, waiting to pop out when you’re getting into bed. A haboob is “a thick dust storm or sandstorm,” and video of a monster haboob that blew through Arizona this week had a 5,983% effect on searches! Science is pretty darn amazing, isn’t it?
WATCH: Weather Words You Need To Know
Jumpsuit
Fans of the band twenty one pilots were treated to two new songs this week, plus an announcement that the band will be dropping a new album this fall. But, it was their song Jumpsuit that scored a 1,540% spike in word searches on Dictionary.com. The term refers to “a garment usually combining a shirt or bodice with shorts or trousers in one piece.”
Searches for the meaning of #Jumpsuit have 🚀 on https://t.co/EoMLt7nGp1 this morning. Twenty one pilots fans, we've got you covered … like a jumpsuit. https://t.co/41tKGG6Znf https://t.co/vjiMuZv7ae
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) July 11, 2018
Oxymoron
Former President Trump attorney Michael Cohen has a new lawyer, and Lanny Davis has wasted no time making headlines … or affecting searches on Dictionary.com. This week Davis tweeted that the way Trump and his new lawyer Rudy Giuliani define truth is an oxymoron, sending searches for the latter term up 77%.
Did @rudygiuliani really say on Sunday shows that @michaelcohen212 should cooperate with prosecutors and tell the truth? Seriously? Is that Trump and Giuliani definition of “truth”? Trump/Giuliani next to the word “truth” = oxymoron. Stay tuned. #thetruthmatters
— Lanny Davis (@LannyDavis) July 9, 2018
So how does Dictionary.com define oxymoron? It’s “a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect,” as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.”
Regrettable
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry didn’t mince words about US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to the Korean peninsula this week, calling his demands “regrettable” and accusing Pompeo of being “gangster-like.” What this means for US and North Korea relations is yet to be determined, but a 1,357% spike in searches for regrettable indicates things are not good! The word means “causing or deserving regret; unfortunate; deplorable.”
Hopeless romantic
Typically, a hopeless romantic is a person who holds sentimental and idealistic views on love, especially in spite of experience, evidence, or exhortations otherwise. Folks who helped searches climb 87% for the term this week may well have been looking for meaning for Wiz Khalifa and Swae Lee’s new song named, you guessed it, “Hopeless Romantic!” As the rapper sings, “seems like I’m always chosen by romantics that are hopeless.” The song was released in June, but the highly anticipated album Rolling Papers 2, which features the song, drops this week.
Hrvatska
English soccer (er, football) fans were disappointed by the outcome of the England vs. Croatia World Cup match this week, but residents of the small Eastern European country have been reveling in their national team’s win. They’re also educating the masses! One thing folks have learned? Hrvatska is the Croatian name for their country. Searches for the word spiked immediately following the game on Wednesday, with a rise in searches of 21,425%!
Searches for the meaning of Hrvatska are 🆙 on https://t.co/EoMLt7nGp1 today. It's the Croatian name for Croatia. #CROvENG https://t.co/KY1wNiGK2V
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) July 11, 2018
Leviathan
If you’re not playing Fortnite, chances are you know someone who is. And, you might just know one of the folks who sent searches for leviathan flying up 320% in anticipation of the game’s season five. Game makers tweeted out an image of a Viking-looking axe that fans were quick to point out looked an awful lot like the Leviathan axe from God of War.
2 days until Season 5… pic.twitter.com/6mukx8KXLP
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) July 10, 2018
So what is a leviathan? Written with a capital L, it refers to a Biblical sea monster. With a lowercase l at the start, a leviathan is “anything of immense size and power, as a huge, oceangoing ship.”
