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2022 in a word? Panglossian
The Word of the Year: Panglossian. Pan-GLAH-see-un\ • adjective : marked by the view that all is for the best in this best of possible worlds : excessively optimistic.
Why not?
If ever there were a year to test the very limits of Paglossianism, it was 2022. Ask any pangloss (a person who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances.) But against all odds, we persevered. After designating this the Word of the Year in my sometimes educational personal holiday letter I explained it all in an earlier Medium story. More details than need be included here, but it’s worth mentioning that absinthe was involved.
For Pangloss of the Year 2022 I would nominate Vlodymyr Zelensky. With Russia busy trying to obliterate his country, Zelensky could have been forgiven for climbing in bed and pulling the covers over his head on any given day. But no. He’s out there seven days a week in his dark green T-shirt, declaring the survival of Ukraine.
You might also be pessimistic about climate change. Especially if you happen to live in California, where fire season started about two months early and shows signs of becoming a year-round phenomenon. But nobody dropped the match to send the state up in flames, and that calls for panglossian rejoicing. If that weren’t enough, an enterprising grandmother/granddaughter pair released a new book…
