We got this from the Oxford University Press:
"Word lovers, you’ve been waiting 12 long months for Oxford to announce the new Word of the Year, and it’s
REFUDIATE!
An unquestionable buzzmaker in 2010, the word refudiate instantly evokes the name of Sarah Palin, who tweeted her way into a flurry of media activity when she used the word in certain statements posted on Twitter. Critics pounced on Palin, lampooning what they saw as nonsensical vocabulary and speculating on whether she meant “refute” or “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.” Although Palin is likely to be forever branded with the coinage of “refudiate,” she is by no means the first person to speak or write it.
To set up an interview with an editor/lexicographer to discuss the 2010 Word of the Year, please contact
Robert Wicks at 212.726.6033, robert.wicks@oup.com,
or Purdy at christian.purdy@oup.com
Please also be in contact if you would like to see additional materials:
-Full press release
-Word of the Year FAQs
-The WOTY Short List Candidates
-“Refudiate” has a past, but does it have a future?
-Refudiate: The Timeline
-Nom nom! (Why 2010 was a good year for our language)
-More word blends!
Information can also be found at OUPblog: http://bit.ly/bifnQs
OUP USA’s Word of the Year is sponsored by the New Oxford American Dictionary.
Robert Wicks
Publicity
Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016-4314
212-726-6033
blog.oup.com"
