"Authentic" was one of this year's most looked-up words, according to the lexical leader. That speaks volumes about our quest for truth in an age of algorithms and online artifice.

Online searches for the word "gaslighting" on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740% in 2022 over the year before, leading the reference publishing company to name it the word of the year.

But it's not at all suspect that yeet and metaverse are among the 370 words added. The dictionary's editor at large says some of these additions might amuse or provoke debate.

The word "vaccine" saw a more than 600% increase in lookups this year over last. In its announcement, Merriam-Webster noted that it's come to represent much more than just medicine.