Merriam-Webster names ‘slop’ word of the year

Merriam-Webster Names ‘Slop’ Word of the Year as AI-Generated Content Floods Internet

Merriam-Webster announced Monday that “slop” has been selected as its Word of the Year for 2025, reflecting the surge of low-quality AI-generated content overwhelming the internet. The term, which originally described soft mud in the 1700s, now defines “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence,” according to the dictionary publisher.pbs

The selection comes as AI-generated material increasingly populates social media feeds, search results, and online platforms. According to Greg Barlow, Merriam-Webster’s president, the spike in searches for “slop” indicates growing public awareness of fabricated content. “It’s such an illustrative word,” Barlow told The Associated Press. “It’s part of a transformative technology, AI, and it’s something that people have found fascinating, annoying and a little bit ridiculous”.abc7ny

AI Content Proliferates Across Platforms

The term encompasses a wide range of AI-generated material, from bizarre videos and fake imagery to propaganda and poorly crafted digital literature. Recent studies have quantified the scale of this phenomenon: more than 54 percent of longer English-language posts on LinkedIn now show signs of AI generation, according to research by Originality AI. The study, which analyzed 8,795 public posts from January 2018 to October 2024, found a 189 percent spike in AI-generated content between January and February 2023, coinciding with ChatGPT’s release.pbs

AI video generators like Sora have particularly raised concerns about deepfakes and misinformation. The tool, released by OpenAI in September 2025, quickly became the top downloaded iPhone app and has been used to create realistic videos of celebrities and public figures. In a controversial example from early December, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted an AI-manipulated image of Franklin the Turtle, a beloved children’s character, firing weapons from a military helicopter to defend U.S. operations against drug traffickers. The publisher Kids Can Press condemned the unauthorized use, stating Franklin represents “kindness, empathy, and inclusivity”.npr

A Defiant Term for the AI Era

Despite the unsettling nature of AI slop, Barlow expressed optimism about the term’s popularity. “They want things that are real, they want things that are genuine,” he said. “It’s almost a defiant word when it comes to AI. When it comes to replacing human creativity, sometimes AI actually doesn’t seem so intelligent”.abc7ny

The announcement follows Merriam-Webster’s release of its 12th edition Collegiate Dictionary in November 2025, the first new hardcover edition in 22 years, which includes over 5,000 new words. Last year’s Word of the Year was “polarization,” reflecting divisions following the 2024 presidential election. Other notable words of 2025 include “touch grass,” “performative,” “gerrymander,” and “conclave”.abcnews