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'Manifest': Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year

PA Media Dua Lipa on stage at Glastonbury in June. She is wearing a sleeveless top, laced up at the front. Her head is flung to the left with her hair swinging around her head in the movement. Her right arm is held out and holding on to the top of a microphone standPA Media
Dua Lipa repeatedly talked about how she had manifested performing at Glastonbury, saying she had written, wished and dreamt about it for many years

The Cambridge Dictionary's Word of the Year has been revealed as "manifest", after a global wellness trend endorsed by celebrities including singer Dua Lipa.

The traditional definition included the adjective "easily noticed or obvious" and the noun "to show something clearly through signs or actions".

It now includes “to manifest" in the sense of "to imagine achieving something you want, in the belief doing so will make it more likely to happen".

But social psychology professor Dr Sander van der Linden, from the University of Cambridge, warned that "manifesting wealth, love, and power has no scientific basis and can lead to unrealistic expectations and disappointment".

Other celebrities who spoke of manifesting their success in 2024 included  US Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and England striker Ollie Watkins.

Wendalyn Nichols, publishing manager of the Cambridge Dictionary, said: "Manifest won this year because it increased notably in look-ups, its use widened greatly across all types of media due to events in 2024, and it shows how the meanings of a word can change over time."

She said there were three considerations before announcing the word of the year: "What word was looked up the most, or spiked? Which one really captures what was happening in that year? And what is interesting about this word from a language point of view?"

Demure, brat and Goldilocks

Dr van der Linden added: "Manifesting is what psychologists call ‘magical thinking’ or the general illusion that specific mental rituals can change the world around us."

He said the idea gained "billions of views" on TikTok during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There is good research on the value of positive thinking, self-affirmation, and goal-setting," he said.

"Believing in yourself, bringing a positive attitude, setting realistic goals, and putting in the effort pays off because people are enacting change in the real world.

"However, it is crucial to understand the difference between the power of positive thinking and moving reality with your mind – the former is healthy, whereas the latter is pseudoscience.”

Other popular terms searched in the dictionary in 2024 included:

  • Brat - A child, especially one who behaves badly. The word went viral thanks to pop artist Charli XCX's album of the same name, about non-conformist women
  • Demure - Quiet or well-behaved. Influencer Jools Lebron's satirical use of the word on TikTok mocking stereotypical femininity drove look-ups
  • Goldilocks - To describe a situation that is exactly right. Financial reporters characterised India’s strong growth and moderate inflation as a Goldilocks economy in early 2024.

The dictionary is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, part of the University of Cambridge.

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