‘Permacrisis’ is Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year – 2022

Permacrisis has been chosen as the Collins Dictionary’s word of the year. The word means an extended period of instability and insecurity.
“Permacrisis sums up just how truly awful 2022 has been for so many people,” Alex Beecroft, head of Collins Learning told AFP.
“Permacrisis,” which is defined as “an extended period of instability and insecurity” by the publisher, is one of a handful of words relating to the challenges posed by climate change, the war in Europe, a cost-of-living crisis and, in many quarters, political chaos.
It was first used in academic contexts in the 1970s, according to Collins, but has seen a spike in use in recent months.
“It was very apparent this year that the conversation was dominated by crisis,” Helen Newstead, language content consultant at Collins Dictionary, told The Washington Post.
Her team looks at the “Collins Corpus,” a database of 18 billion words, in making its choice, as well as taking “snapshots” at intervals throughout the year to analyze newspapers and social media among other sources, she said, to find new words and increased usage.