Word of the Year: Kindness wins children’s 2024 vote

Andrea Quincey, a director at OUP, said the choice was “encouraging” and reflected children’s increasing awareness of mental health.

She sad: “We know from previous years that young people are very conscious of the big issues that can divide us as a society and attuned to the important role which language can play in bringing people together.

“It tells us that empathy and tolerance and the language we use matter, and that kindness is not only a solution to so many problems but is something everyone and anyone can do to make a difference.”

“Slay”, “sigma” and “skibidi” were chosen as the top three slang words, which OUP said demonstrated the role of social media in influencing children’s vocabulary.

“Slay” as a slang term means to greatly impress or amuse, and “sigma” means popular or successful.

Ms Quincey said the choice of these two words also reflected children’s positivity in wanting to celebrate their friends.

She added that in the final vote kindness had been chosen by 61% of children while a quarter chose “artificial intelligence”.