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# This Is Dictionary.com’s 2015 Word of the Year

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by 

[Katy Steinmetz](https://time.com/author/katy-steinmetz/)


## Katy Steinmetz


Dec 8, 2015 1:02 PM UTC

by 

[Katy Steinmetz](https://time.com/author/katy-steinmetz/)


## Katy Steinmetz


Dec 8, 2015 1:02 PM UTC

Dictionary.com announced its 2015 word of the year on Tuesday: _identity_.

“Over the past year, headlines tied to gender, sexuality and race dominated the news,” the company’s editors wrote in a press release. “In particular, many of the year’s biggest stories focused on the way in which individuals or members of a group are perceived, understood, accepted or shut out.”

Editors said they picked _identity_ after they saw spikes in lookups for words such as _transgender_, [_cisgender_](http://time.com/3636430/cisgender-definition/)and _microaggression_, which Dictionary.com defines as “a subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a minority or other nondominant group that is often unintentional or unconsciously reinforces a stereotype.” They pointed to people including former NCAAP chapter president Rachel Dolezal and Caitlyn Jenner as figures who launched a thousand think pieces about race and gender this year, while the Supreme Court altered the definition of _marriage_ with a [landmark ruling](http://time.com/3937244/supreme-court-gay-marriage-decision/). 

Opening the annual “WOTY” season for major players, Oxford Dictionaries [chose an emoji](http://time.com/4114886/oxford-word-of-the-year-2015-emoji/) as their word of the year in November. Last year amid Ebola fervor, Dictionary.com summed up the year with [_exposure_](http://time.com/3592902/dictionary-word-of-the-year-exposure/), while Oxford [anointed _vape_](http://time.com/3590093/oxfords-2014-word-of-the-year-is-vape/), Merriam Webster [chose _culture_](http://time.com/3632231/merriam-webster-word-of-the-year-2014/) and the American Dialect Society [voted for the hashtag #blacklivesmatter](http://time.com/3662593/2014-word-of-year-blacklivesmatter/).

**MORE**: [Words of the Year: How the Pithy Tradition Began](http://time.com/3589626/word-of-the-year-history/)

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