The American dictionary Merriam-Webster has named “surreal” its 2016 Word of the Year. Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary defines the adjective as “very strange or unusual” or “having the quality of a dream.” The word entered the English language in the 1930s, following the artistic movement known as surrealism. Merriam-Webster says searches for “surreal” rose after several world events and tragedies in the past year. Major increases in the number of lookups directly followed the terrorist attacks in Belgium and France, the overthrow attempt in Turkey, the Brexit vote, and the death of American musician Prince. But, Merriam-Webster reports, the largest increase in searches for “surreal” came just after the United States presidential election last month. Its meaning comes from the word’s two parts. The word “real” comes after the preposition “sur,” which means “above” or “over” in the French language. “Surreal” is often used to describe something shocking. People might use the word when they cannot believe -- or do not want to believe -- reality. Surreal can have a negative or positive meaning. For example, the Grand Canyon or a trip to the Moon could be described as surreal. Other popular words of 2016 include revenant, icon, and bigly, Merriam-Webster says.
Title: What is the 2016 Word of the Year?
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/2016_word.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='What is the 2016 Word of the Year?' data-article-id='2099'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='12667'>The American dictionary Merriam-Webster has named “surreal” its 2016 Word of the Year.</span> <span data-start-time='12667' data-end-time='29750'>Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary defines the adjective as “very strange or unusual” or “having the quality of a dream.”</span> <span data-start-time='29750' data-end-time='42292'>The word entered the English language in the 1930s, following the artistic movement known as surrealism.</span> <span data-start-time='42292' data-end-time='55146'>Merriam-Webster says searches for “surreal” rose after several world events and tragedies in the past year.</span> <span data-start-time='55146' data-end-time='76688'>Major increases in the number of lookups directly followed the terrorist attacks in Belgium and France, the overthrow attempt in Turkey, the Brexit vote, and the death of American musician Prince.</span> <span data-start-time='76688' data-end-time='92708'>But, Merriam-Webster reports, the largest increase in searches for “surreal” came just after the United States presidential election last month.</span> <span data-start-time='92708' data-end-time='98396'>Its meaning comes from the word’s two parts.</span> <span data-start-time='98396' data-end-time='110792'>The word “real” comes after the preposition “sur,” which means “above” or “over” in the French language.</span> <span data-start-time='110792' data-end-time='117000'>“Surreal” is often used to describe something shocking.</span> <span data-start-time='117000' data-end-time='127000'>People might use the word when they cannot believe -- or do not want to believe -- reality.</span> <span data-start-time='127000' data-end-time='132208'>Surreal can have a negative or positive meaning.</span> <span data-start-time='132208' data-end-time='141188'>For example, the Grand Canyon or a trip to the Moon could be described as surreal.</span> <span data-start-time='141188' data-end-time='152396'>Other popular words of 2016 include revenant, icon, and bigly, Merriam-Webster says.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/2016_word.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=7806 data-hint-location='12667' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/what_does_surreal_mean.m4a'>What does surreal mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='very strange or unusual'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/looking_up_the_meaning_of_a_word.m4a'><span>looking up the meaning of a word</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/world_events.m4a'><span>world events</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/having_a_pleasant_quality.m4a'><span>having a pleasant quality</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/very_strange_or_unusual.m4a'><span>very strange or unusual</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=7807 data-hint-location='92708' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/the_word_surreal_has_how_many_parts.m4a'>The word surreal has how many parts?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='two'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/four.m4a'><span>four</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/three.m4a'><span>three</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/two.m4a'><span>two</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/one.m4a'><span>one</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=7808 data-hint-location='127000' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/surreal_can_have_a_negative_or__blank__meaning.m4a'>Surreal can have a negative or <span class='blank'>positive</span> meaning.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='positive'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/positive.m4a'><span>positive</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/artistic.m4a'><span>artistic</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/revenant.m4a'><span>revenant</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1583/strange.m4a'><span>strange</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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