Dictionary.com is known for its Word of the Day (such as Monday’s pick: mazuma, slang for money).
“It means ‘choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others; having partnership or involvement in wrongdoing.’ Or, put simply, it means being, at some level, responsible for something — even if indirectly,” says the site.
Not being coy about the political connotations, Dictionary.com notes how complicit was used in talk by and about Ivanka Trump, various presidential and sex-harassment scandals, and even EPA chief Scott Pruitt being “complicit in his refusal to acknowledge that humans play a primary role in climate change.”
“It’s a word that reminds us that even inaction is a type of action,” the site says. “The silent acceptance of wrongdoing is how we’ve gotten to this point. We must not let this continue to be the norm. If we do, then we are all complicit.”
HuffPost noted: “The year’s first surge for the word was on March 12, after a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch featuring Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump in a perfume ad for a fictional scent called ‘Complicit.’ The satirical tagline for the fake beauty product was: “The fragrance for the woman who could stop all this, but won’t.”
Other nominations for Word of the Year:
We’re so excited to announce that the Word of the Year is covfefe!
JUST KIDDING! But it is complicit. https://t.co/duT1xbaA5D#Complicit #WordOftheYear #ScaredYouDidntWe pic.twitter.com/P8fIL5LKOk
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) November 27, 2017
BREAKING: The Trump White House ethics lawyer quits! While another top White House lawyer prepares for questioning in Russia probe.
Word of the Year for 2017: Complicit
Runner up: Treason#MondayMotivaton CFPB #CyberMonday pic.twitter.com/qr0vRYzOjC— Dan Sutton (@dannon787) November 27, 2017
My vote for word of the year is…
UNPRECEDENTED
It has been used far beyond just the President.
Almost everything that has happened in 2017 has been unprecedented.
“Complicit” is cute given SNL and all, but does it really stretch into everything that effected us this year?
— Red T Raccoon (@RedTRaccoon) November 27, 2017
“Word of the Year” for 2017: Complicit
Runner up: Treason
Honorable mention: IndictmentsWe’d like to thank the Trump crime family for making this happen, and a special thanks and shout out goes to Robert Mueller for the honorable mention. ???? pic.twitter.com/f3URMCuWge
— realDonaldTrump (@RealTrumpClone) November 27, 2017
The Word of the Year should be “uneducated”, since most liberals don’t understand the word ‘complicit’, even after reading the definition. ‘Ignorance’ would be a good choice, too.
— Patrick Henry (@FightNowAmerica) November 27, 2017
According to @Dictionarycom the word of the year is complicit. Hopefully next year’s will be impeached
— Erin Vieira (@erivie) November 27, 2017
Why did @Dictionarycom pick “complicit”?
Well, there are many possible reasons, but here are a few it cites: pic.twitter.com/EGfqoPKOST
— Shareblue Media (@Shareblue) November 27, 2017