Why ‘demure’ and ‘brat’ are phrases of the yr as Gen Z slang takes over dictionary

Each year there are words that define the past 12 months, creating a common connection amongst us humans. The words of the year might be a concoction of letters that have had a resurgence or a whole brand spanking new word altogether.

Either way, it’s a good way to reflect on the year – for better or worse. And in 2024, there’s been plenty of contenders vying to take the coveted crown.

Dictionaries near and far got their panels together, and used help of the public vote in some cases, to decide what the word of the year should be.

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So what are they, you ask? Well, at the start of November, Collins Dictionary officially announced that ‘brat’ is to be their word of the year. And just yesterday (Tuesday 26 November), Dictionary.com – a free online dictionary – revealed that ‘demure’ was their 2024 choice.

While you can still cast your vote in the Oxford Dictionary shortlist, let’s take a look at the two words of the year so far – what do they mean and why were they chosen?

Brat

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ll most likely have seen the word ‘brat’ everywhere. It was the word used to describe the debauchery of summer 2024, aptly penned ‘brat summer’.

In a time where Gen Z were thought to have kicked the bad habits like smoking, binge drinking and sniffing naughty things up their nose, Charli XCX’s ‘wild party girl’ infused album ‘brat’ brought the hell-raiser type of woman back from the dead – or the 90s.

Brat started off as reference to the album, but it quickly turned into a movement that still lives on as Charli XCX continues her tour and random pop-up gigs.

Many people, mainly women, became ‘brat’, breathed ‘brat’ and lived ‘brat’. Think lower back tattoos, puffing away on cigarettes, thong strings peeping over low-rise jeans, getting unapologetically sweaty and wasted in the club – that’s brat. It’s like if a 90s ladette and a rockstar girlfriend had a 2024 baby.

But what does the new definition of ‘brat’ mean? Well, the original often refers to a ‘typically bad behaved child’.

However, Collins Dictionary have defined their word of the year as: brat – ‘characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude’.

British star Charli XCX didn’t just bag herself an award-winning album, but she initiated a lifestyle that has extended past its original summer reign.

Over 1.4million videos on TikTok are teamed with the hashtag ‘brat’ and song ‘Apple’ has 1.7million videos tied to it alone. Creator @kelley.heyer even choreographed a routine to the standout track that was danced by millions all over the app and even became an integral part of the tour.

And Kamala Harris even attempted to incorporate ‘brat’ into her election campaign, though that work out quite so well…

Charli XCX said all you need is a ‘pack of cigarettes, a bic lighter, a strappy white top and no bra’ – gosh, how brat!

Demure

Very demure, very mindful.

A sentence that has been ingrained into many brains over the last half of 2024. It’s impossible to get away from it. Just when you think you’ve scrubbed it from your memory it comes back as one of the chosen words of the year.

That’s not very mindful.

But, Dictionary.com thinks that ‘demure’ is as they’ve obviously become very conscious and aware that people cannot stop saying it.

‘Demure’ was, up until this year, seen as an almost archaic word. It didn’t seem to have much relevance, just like the boy’s name Gary is at risk of going extinct.

But just like ladette culture’s resurgence thanks to brat, demure has had a renaissance with it’s “meteoric” rise in usage thanks to one viral TikTok video. It has changed the vocabularies of Gen Z and the life of the creator who propelled it back to relevance forever.

Unlike brat, the definition of ‘demure’ hasn’t changed. Dictionary.com defines it as: Demure – “reserved, quiet, or modest.” Though, it seems like its influence has been anything but.

According to Dictionary.com, “between August 2023 and July 2024, there was no significant trend in the usage of the word demure. By the week of August 18, 2024, however, there was almost 14 times more interest in the term, highlighting the term’s almost overnight explosion in popularity.

“At the peak of the trend, demure had 200 times more searches on Dictionary.com than it did on dates preceding August.”

So what happened? It was the end of August when TikTok user Jools Lebron, from the US, decided to make a video in her car while she was waiting to go into work as a cashier at Mariano’s, a supermarket chain in Chicago,US.

She would often post makeup videos to the app just out of her enjoyment of getting glammed up. But her work ‘beat’ proved to be mega successful with a massive 54.5million views and ended up transcending the walls of TikTok virality.

Jools, who now has 2.3million followers and bagged a whole list of brand deals, said: “You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure. Very mindful.

“I don’t come to work with a green cut crease. I don’t look like a clown when I go to work. I don’t do too much. I’m very mindful while I’m at work.”

People quickly fell in love with Jools and her ‘very demure, very mindful’ phrase, with the hashtag ‘demure’ now used in 842,000 posts on the app.

‘Very demure, very mindful’ quickly became a trend where people would use the phrase to describe scenarios, styles and people – often sarcastically too.

The phrase escaped social media and is now used as passing vocab of the everyday. So if you hear one of your Gen Z colleagues or family members say it, then you’re now in the know.

However, much of Gen Z didn’t even know what the definition of ‘demure’ was before Jools’ viral clip. But, with it being the word of the year they certainly do now.

Learning new words? How very demure, very mindful.

We spoke with trend forecaster and podcast host of Let’s Get Ugly Disha Daswaney to get some expert insight into how two very different words and trends – the rebellious brat and the sophistication of demure – have become so simultaneously popular.

The expert told us: “The rise of “brat” and “demure” as words of the year perfectly illustrates TikTok’s role in setting cultural and aesthetic agendas, driven by a generation redefining self-expression through contrasting yet complementary identities.

“What’s fascinating is how these aesthetics thrived at the same time, reflecting Gen Z’s fluidity in identity and self-expression.

“TikTok allowed users to seamlessly shift between the rebellion of ‘brat’ and the sophistication of ‘demure’, embracing both extremes depending on their mood or message.

“This duality, amplified by the platform’s ability to make aesthetics go viral, has inspired brands to craft campaigns and collections celebrating the messy, the mindful, and everything in between.

“It’s a testament to how digital creativity and individuality are reshaping culture today.”