There were a lot of surprises to come out of 2016, but "xenophobia" being named Dictionary.com's Word of the Year is not one of them.
2016年意外连连，但“仇外情绪”被评为Dictionary.com年度词汇却在预料之中。
When you consider the
rhetoric that galvanized people in this year's Brexit vote and the US presidential race, the proof that "xenophobia" is the word that most represents the zeitgeist of 2016 is, well, in the pudding.
According to Dictionary.com, the word's origins stem from two Greek terms meaning "stranger" ("xénos") and "fear" or "panic" ("phóbo").
Searches for "xenophobia" on the site surged right after the Brexit vote in June.
There was an even larger
spike days later, when President Obama delivered a speech stating that language used by Donald
Trump, current President-elect, was not an example of populism, but rather "nativism or xenophobia."
"Xenophobia and other words tied to global news and political rhetoric reflected the worldwide interest in the unfortunate rise of fear of otherness in 2016, making it the clear choice for Word of the Year," said Liz McMillan, CEO of Dictionary.com, in a statement.
"While we can never know the exact reasons why xenophobia trended in our lookups this year, this reflects a desire in our users to understand the significant
discourse surrounding global events."
Dictionary.com's selection of "xenophobia" is far from the only
indicator of our tumultuous year.
Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year was "post-truth," a term that means "objective facts are less
influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief."
相关单词：rhetoric
rhetoric解释：n.修辞学，浮夸之言语
rhetoric例句：
Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。
相关单词：spike
spike解释：n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效
spike例句：
The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。
相关单词：trump
trump解释：n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭
trump例句：
He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。
相关单词：discourse
discourse解释：n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述
discourse例句：
We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。
相关单词：indicator
indicator解释：n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器
indicator例句：
Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。
相关单词：Oxford
Oxford解释：n.牛津（英国城市）
Oxford例句：
At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
相关单词：influential
influential解释：adj.有影响的，有权势的
influential例句：
He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
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