Nonword ‘refudiate’ gets most searches

Words of the summer runners-up

The runners-up to Merriam-Webster’s 2010 Word of the Summer (refudiate), with definitions from the publisher’s dictionary and, when applicable, the news event or story that generated interest in the word:

• Inception: an act, process or instance of beginning.

A movie titled “Inception” and starring Leonardo DiCaprio was released July 16.

• Despicable: deserving to be despised; so worthless or obnoxious as to rouse moral indignation.

An animated comedy called “Despicable Me” opened in theaters July 9.

• Moratorium: a waiting period set by an authority; a suspension of activity.

The Obama administration imposed a six-month deepwater drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico after the deadly Deepwater Horizon rig explosion.

• Austere/austerity: stern and cold in appearance or manner; morally strict, giving little or no scope for pleasure.

Greek officials warned they needed to impose austerity measures to overhaul the country’s economy and pull itself out of a debt crisis that nearly led to its bankruptcy.

• Cacophony: harsh or discordant sound.

Plastic horns known as vuvuzelas provided an earsplitting buzz at the World Cup soccer games, delighting some fans and infuriating others who said they couldn’t hear over the noise.

• Doppelganger: a ghostly counterpart of a living person; a double or alter ego.

Television host George Stephanopoulos referred to Elizabeth Gilbert as actress Julia Roberts’ doppelganger when Gilbert appeared on “Good Morning America” to discuss the film adaptation — starring Roberts — of her memoir, “Eat, Pray, Love.”

• Opulent: having a large estate or property; wealthy or plentifully provided, often to the point of ostentation.

The word was used in news articles and online by some to describe Chelsea Clinton’s wedding and the New York estate on which it was held.

• Vapid: lacking liveliness, tang, briskness or force.

Before her confirmation as a Supreme Court justice, a 1995 paper surfaced by nominee Elena Kagan in which the law professor called the confirmation process “a vapid and hollow charade.”

• Frugal: characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources.

Interest in the word’s definition jumped and has stayed constant as frugality has been discussed in several news stories. Notably, they included an Aug. 20 story in the New York Times headlined, “How to Be Frugal and Still Be Asked on Dates” and reports on California gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown’s vow to run a frugal campaign.

Source: Merriam-Webster.

SPRINGFIELD, MASS. ? Merriam-Webster’s “Word of the Summer” is not even a word. That’s something no one can “refudiate.”

Sarah Palin’s attempt to splice “refute” and “repudiate” on a news show and in a Twitter message in July sparked more searches on the publisher’s online dictionary during the summer than most real words did. But don’t expect all the interest in “refudiate” to lead to an actual dictionary entry.

The former Alaska governor has laughed off criticisms about her pseudo-word, noting that Shakespeare also coined new words.

“Refute” and “repudiate” do have similar meanings. Refute means to prove something wrong or deny its truth or accuracy. Repudiate means to refuse any connection with something or reject it as untrue or unjust.

“I think people immediately knew what she was trying to say because the words ‘refute’ and ‘repudiate’ were also being looked up very, very frequently,” said John Morse, Merriam-Webster’s president and publisher.

“It’s an interesting blend, but no, ‘refudiate’ is not a real word,” he said.

But that could someday change. Many of today’s accepted words once were considered strange hybrids, too, including contraption (contrivance plus trap and invention) and splatter (splash and spatter).

Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster started tracking trends on what news-driven words were looked up most frequently after Princess Diana’s death. That’s when its editors noticed a spike in online searches for certain words associated with that event, such as paparazzi (an aggressive photographer focusing on celebrities) and cortege (a funeral procession).

It’s now able to track all searches on its website, naming the top trend words of each year and an annual compilation of “new words” accepted into the dictionary, such as “blog” and “staycation.”

Palin wasn’t the first to blend two words with a similar meaning into one. Others have worked their way into the dictionary over time, such as “bold” and “audacious” blending to become “bodacious” or “guess” and “estimate” becoming “guesstimate.”

Jonathan Bobaljik, a linguistics professor at the University of Connecticut, said a term’s transition from slang to acceptance as a word isn’t a clear-cut process.

For instance, people with something in common — such as Palin supporters — might use a particular term to signal their affinity even if they know it’s not considered proper English.

“If enough people decide through popular consent that they’re going to use it, then it may eventually become a word,” Bobaljik said.