From a viral video on TikTok to Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year, “demure” has been on everyone’s minds this year, thanks to content creator Jools Lebron.
She posted the now-iconic “demure” video on Aug. 5. In it, she provides some tongue-in-cheek advice for fashion and beauty in the workplace.
“See how I do my makeup for work? Very demure. Very mindful,” Lebron says while sitting in a car. “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.”
Her delivery of “very demure,” caught fire on TikTok. All types of creators started slipping the phrase into their videos and Lebron herself posted several follow-ups. Then, “demure” spread to other social media apps and beyond.
“The word demure experienced a meteoric rise in usage in 2024,” said Dictionary.com. “Between January and the end of August, this term saw a nearly 1,200% increase in usage in digital web media alone.”
To select its Word of the Year, the site’s lexicographers analyzed data that included news headlines, trends on social media, search engine results and more. By Aug. 18, the term had exploded in popularity, with almost 14 times more interest in the term than before Lebron’s video. At the peak of the trend, “demure” had 200 times more searches than it had before.
While popular usage is factored into the decision, Dictionary.com said that the Word of the Year is meant to reveal things about the stories we tell about ourselves and how we have changed over the past year. Previous selections include 2023’s “hallucinate,” 2022’s “woman,” and 2021’s “allyship.”
According to lexicographer Grant Barrett the “demure” trend caught on because it’s funny and relatable – and because Lebron has “this amazing dry delivery,” as reported by KCBS Radio. He also explained that Lebron’s take on “demure” shows a shift in the meaning of the word “demure” from referencing an older model of femininity to a new one.
Dictionary.com also noted how Lebron’s use pivoted our understanding of the word.
“Though the term demure has traditionally been used to describe those who are reserved, quiet, or modest, a new usage has spread through social media – one used to describe refined and sophisticated appearance or behavior in various contexts, such as at work or on a plane,” said the site. “This increased focus on public appearance and behavior comes at a time when employees are increasingly returning to offices after hybrid remote work following the pandemic.”
Lebron posted a reaction video to Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year Choice this week.
Other words that made the Word of the Year shortlist were brainrot, brat, extreme weather, Midwest nice and weird.