Alex Beecroft

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By Helen BushbyEntertainment and arts reporter

Permacrisis - a word describing The Feeling of living through a period of war, inflation, and political instability - has been chosen as Collins Dictionary's word of the year.

It " sums up just how truly awful 2022 has been for so many people" said Alex Beecroft , head of Collins Learning.

It led Collins's annual compilation of 10 words or phrases which " reflect our ever-evolving language and the preoccupations of those who use it".

Quiet quitting also made The List .

This phrase is " The Act of doing one's basic duties at work and no more, either by way of protest or to improve work/life balance".

Mr Beecroft added: " Language can be a mirror to what is going on In Society and the wider world, and this year has thrown up challenge after challenge. "

He Said it was understandable that people may feel " We Are in an ongoing state of uncertainty and worry" after " living through upheaval caused by Brexit, the pandemic, severe weather, The War in Ukraine, political instability, the energy squeeze and the cost-of-living crisis".

Collins's lexicographers said several words on The List relate to these crises.

The List was compiled by monitoring The Eight billion-word plus a range of media sources, including Social Media .

Permacrisis is one of six words on The List that are new to CollinsDictionary. com, and was first noted as a word in academic contexts in the 1970s.

Mr Beecroft added: " Our list this year reflects The State of The World right Now - not much Good News , although, with the determination of the Ukrainian people reflected by the inclusion of Kyiv, and The Dawn of the new Carolean age in the UK, there are rays of hope. "

Here is The List of The Top 10 words and phrases in alphabetical order, plus their definitions in full:

Carolean: Of or relating to Charles Iii of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or his reign.

Kyiv: The capital of Ukraine, on the Dnipro River.

Lawfare: The strategic use of legal proceedings to intimidate or hinder an opponent.

Partygate: A political scandal over social gatherings held in British government offices during 2020 and 2021 in defiance of the Public Health restrictions that prevailed at The Time .

Permacrisis: An extended period of instability and insecurity, especially one resulting from a series of catastrophic events.

Quiet quitting: The Practice of doing no more work than one is contractually obliged to do, especially in order to spend more time on personal activities; The Practice of doing little or no work while being present at one's place of employment.

Splooting: The Act of lying flat on the stomach with the legs stretched out.

Sportswashing: The sponsorship or promotion of sporting events in order to enhance a tarnished reputation or distract attention from a controversial activity.

Vibe shift: A significant change in a prevailing cultural atmosphere or trend.

Warm bank: A heated building where people who cannot afford to heat their own homes may go.

while words related to vaccines spiked in frequency in 2021 because of Covid, with double-vaxxed, unvaxxed and anti-vaxxer all seeing a surge in use.

Previous Collins' words of the year include lockdown, climate strike, single-use, fake news, Brexit, binge-watch, photobomb and geek.

The Oxford Dictionary 's previous words of the year include climate emergency, toxic, youthquake, post-truth, emoji-tears-of-joy, vape and Selfie .

Source of news: bbc.com