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“Demure,” a word that went viral over the American summer, has been named Word of the Year 2024 by Dictionary.com — beating other contenders such as “brain,” “brat” and “weird.”
The word saw a “meteoric increase in usage” in 2024 — a 1,200 percent increase between January and August — a jump largely attributed to TikToker and beauty influencer Jools Lebron’s popularization of the phrase “very humble, very careful” in a series of satirical videos that took the internet by storm.
“See how I put on my makeup for work? Very modest. Very aware,” Lebron says in one of his TikToks, wearing a slightly pared-down version of his usual makeup of black, winged eyeliner and false eyelashes.
READ MORE:The Macquarie Dictionary has its own word of the year. What does that mean?
“The way I came to the interview is the way I go to work. A lot of you girls go to the interview looking like Marge Simpson and go to work looking like (her sisters) Patty and Selma. It’s not modest,” she added, using the characters from the TV series “The Simpsons” to express her opinion.
“Demure” has historically been used to describe a discreet and reserved demeanor, but “the new use has spread through social media,” Dictionary.com said, noting the word’s recent associations with a person’s appearance and the way they behave at work or in public places. .
“In every video I just refer to myself,” Lebron says in another video jokingly titled “obscurity of demurry,” where he explains the joke after users questioned whether people should be judged by their appearance at work. “It’s a joke!”
The satire is clearest in the clip, in which the TikTok star claims he’ll be modest, cautious as he steps out on the Las Vegas Strip. Her sober assertions that she’ll be back in bed by 10pm are interspersed with scenes of Lebron from later that night, giggling in the club and struggling to find his hotel room.
Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and “Drag Race” host RuPaul have used the trend to promote their brands.
In photos from a recent campaign for her shapewear brand Skims, Kardashian used the phrase in the caption: “See how I take a picture of my bts…very cute (sic), very careful, very modest…not like other girls,” Jennifer wrote on Instagram. Lopez posted a post promoting her line of Delola cocktails with the caption “very modest…very careful,” along with a video of her elegantly sipping.
“See how I’m reading this book? Very modest. I’m not reading the pages, I’m putting a bookmark,” RuPaul said in a video promoting the online bookstore Allstor. “And I don’t reveal the end to my friends. Very considerate. And also, my cell phone is on do not disturb. Very modest. Very careful.”
Lebron also appeared in a video with makeup artist Patrick Tao promoting a new skin foundation from his beauty line.
Lebron, who is transgender, said fame from her “humble” videos helped her fund the rest of her transition.
“I used to be crazy and out of control, and then I found some modesty, and with that came success,” she said on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. She has now amassed more than 2.3 million followers on TikTok.
Dictionary.com said it based its decision to choose “demure” this year on a thorough analysis of social media trends, news headlines and words that have transcended online conversations and seeped into everyday dialogue.
The 2023 page’s word of the year was “hallucinate” — a reference to the rise of chatbots and artificial intelligence that can often fuel misinformation.
“Brat,” another word that took on a new meaning in 2024, was named the word of 2024 by Collins Dictionary for being one of the most talked about words online and offline.
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