-- The runners-up to Merriam-Webster's 2010 Word of the Year - austerity - with definitions from the publisher's collegiate dictionary and, when applicable, the news event or story that generated the interest in the word:
- Pragmatic (adj.): relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters; practical as opposed to idealistic.
U.S. elected officials began to talk about more "pragmatic" solutions to the nation's problems after the Nov. midterm elections.
- Moratorium (noun): a legally authorized period of delay in the performance of a legal obligation or the payment of a debt.
The Obama administration issued a "moratorium" on deepwater oil drilling following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Socialism (noun): any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
Socialism was in the news on and off around a number news stories, including those concerning federal bailouts and Democratic-backed federal health care legislation.
- Bigot (noun): a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown referred to voter as a "bigot" with a wireless microphone still on, former CNN host Rick Sanchez suggested Daily Show host Jon Stewart was a "bigot," and former NPR senior analyst Juan Williams got fired after he said on the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" that he wasn't a "bigot," but got nervous when he saw certain Muslims on airplanes.
- Doppelganger (noun): a ghostly counterpart of a living person; comes from a German word that translates as "double goer."
ABC "Good Morning America" host George Stephanopoulos called "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert "Julia Roberts' doppelganger." Roberts played Gilbert in the book's film adaptation. "Doppelganger" was also used in the popular television show, "The Vampire Diaries."
- Shellacking (noun): a decisive defeat.
President Barack Obama said he and his party took "a shellacking" from voters frustrated over the pace of economic recovery, a day after Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives and lost ground in the Senate.
- Ebullient (adj.): having or showing liveliness and enthusiasm.
A number of media outlets used "ebullient" to describe events around the rescue of the Chilean miners in October.
- Dissident (adj.): disagreeing especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief.
The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xialbo, who not able to attend the ceremony in Oslo, Norway, because he remained a political prisoner in China, was often referred to as a "dissident."
- Furtive (adj.): done by stealth; surreptitious.
A man shown on surveillance video shedding his shirt near a car bomb in Times Square in May was described by police as "looking furtively" as he walked quickly from the scene.
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