The New Oxford American Dictionary announced Monday that “refudiate,” a word made famous by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, had won its 2010 Word of the Year award.
“Refudiate” became an instant classic back in July when national media and Palin watchers ridiculed her for using a non-existent word that seemed to be a cross between “refute” and “repudiate.”
“From a strictly lexical interpretation of the different contexts in which Palin has used ‘refudiate,’ we have concluded that neither ‘refute’ nor ‘repudiate’ seems consistently precise, and that ‘refudiate’ more or less stands on its own, suggesting a general sense of ‘reject,’ Oxford University Press said in a press release accompanying the announcement.
The winning word first entered the lexicon when Palin used it on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” show back in July.
On the show, Palin called on President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to “refudiate” the NAACP’s suggestion that the Tea Party movement was racist.
A few days later, she used the word again in a tweet addressing the Ground Zero mosque controversy.
Palin wrote: “Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate.”
Palin was not the first politician to use the word.
In 2006, Ohio Republican Senator Mike DeWine said on Fox and Friends, “I think anyone that is associated with him campaigning needs to refudiate these comments.”
“Refudiate” triumphed over other words on the short list, including “bankster” — described as “a member of the banking industry perceived as a predator that grows rich at the expense of those suffering in a crumbling economy” and “gleek” — a noun used to describe a fan of the television show “Glee.”