Dictionary.com just announced the 2024 Word of the Year and their choice feels very "demure." Earlier this year, viral TikTok content creator Jools Lebron shared a video explaining how she goes to work,

“The word ‘demure’ experienced a meteoric rise in usage in 2024. Between January and the end of August, this term saw a nearly 1200% increase in usage in digital web media alone,” the announcement read. “This sharp rise is mainly attributed to TikToker Jools Lebron’s popularization of the phrase.”

Dictionary.com names "demure" as the year's top word following Jools Lebron’s satirical TikTok video reminding women to be “very mindful, very demure” in the workplace.

Thanks to Jools Lebron, demure has become Dictionary.com's word of the year, after the creator's viral video blew up on social media.

Dictionary.com announced "demure" as their Word of the Year on November 25 in a press release, referencing the viral phrase "very mindful, very demure," popularized by TikToker Jools Lebron. The word surpassed other contenders for the title, including 'brainrot,' 'brat,' 'extreme weather,' 'midwest nice,' and 'weird.'

According to Dictionary.com, there was no significant trend in the usage of the word demure before the TikTok was posted. But by the week of Aug.18, there was almost 14 times more interest in the term. At its peak, ‘demure’ had 200 times more searches on Dictionary.com after the TikTok posted than it did before.

Dictionary.com declared "demure" the 2024 word of the year after viral videos by TikToker Jools Lebron popularized the term.