--- description: Merriam-Webster announced a new batch of words that perfectly sum up the political moment, including alt-right, dog whistle, troll and more title: Merriam-Webster's New Words Perfectly Sum Up America's Political Climate image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [language](/tag/language/) ## language Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Merriam-Webster's New Words Perfectly Sum Up America's Political Climate by [Katy Steinmetz](/author/katy-steinmetz/) ## Katy Steinmetz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 18, 2017 4:38 PM CUT by [Katy Steinmetz](/author/katy-steinmetz/) ## Katy Steinmetz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 18, 2017 4:38 PM CUT Merriam-Webster [announced](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionary-sep-2017 "undefined") Monday that about 250 new terms were added to the dictionary’s ranks. Newly defined words often reflect people’s preoccupations — whether in technology or pop culture— and several terms in this batch reflect America’s current political climate. Merriam-Webster has, for example, been tracking **_alt-right_** since the term gained prominence during the 2016 election, and editors have seen spikes in attempted lookups for the term in recent months. The term is now defined in the dictionary as follows: --- > “” --- While editors also saw a spike for _alt-left_ after President Donald Trump [used the term](http://time.com/4902144/donald-trump-charlottesville-blame-both-sides-kkk-nazi/ "undefined") in August following clashes of protesters in [Charlottesville](http://time.com/4942797/donald-trump-tim-scott-both-sides-charlottesville-antifa/ "undefined"), editors say that term remains on their watchlist for now. It often takes time for a word’s definition to settle and for it to be clear that a word is going to stick around. Another newly added term is **_dog whistle_**, a phrase people use to identify what they see as coded political messages that are “speaking to a particular audience that’s supposed to pick up on a frequency that others won’t hear,” as linguist Ben Zimmer has said. --- > “” --- During the election, for example, Trump often made reference to the need for “law and order,” as Richard Nixon did in 1968\. On its surface, the phrase refers on to crime and following rules, but [many also see it](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/donald-trump-law-and-order-richard-nixon-crime-race-214066 "undefined") as a reference to deeper anxieties about race relations in America. Merriam-Webster’s editors also added a new sense of **_troll_**, which speaks to the way that term is being used to describe things that happen in real life, as well as online. --- > “” --- Here is a selection of other words in the new update: **bunny**: (_in basketball_) an easy shot, such as a layup, taken close to the basket **concealed carry**: the act or practice of carrying a concealed firearm in public or the legal right to do so **face mask**: (_in American football_) a penalty imposed on a player for grabbing and pulling an opponent’s face mask during play **froyo**: frozen yogurt **hive mind**: the collective thoughts, ideas, and opinions of a group of people (such as Internet users) regarded as functioning together as a single mind **pregame**: to begin drinking alcohol before an event or activity (such as a party or a night out) **showrunner**: a person who oversees the writing and production of each episode of a television series and has ultimate managerial and creative control over the series **sriracha**: a pungent sauce that is made from hot peppers pureed with usually garlic, sugar, salt, and vinegar and that is typically used as a condiment ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4946240/merriam-webster-alt-right-meaning/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4946240/merriam-webster-alt-right-meaning/"},"headline":"Merriam-Webster's New Words Perfectly Sum Up America's Political Climate","datePublished":"2017-09-18T16:38:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:15:26.253Z","description":"The Springfield, Mass.-based dictionary maker announced a new batch of words on Monday","url":"https://time.com/4946240/merriam-webster-alt-right-meaning/","keywords":["language","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katy Steinmetz","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/katy-steinmetz/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/language/","name":"language"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4946240/merriam-webster-alt-right-meaning/","name":"Merriam-Webster's New Words Perfectly Sum Up America's Political Climate"}}]}] ```