‘Demure’ Named the 2024 Word of the Year Following Viral Post from TikToker Jools Lebron
The word ‘demure’ has been announced as the 2024 word of the year by Dictionary.com.
The term topped the platform’s annual list after its popular use on social media in recent months, sparked by TikToker Jools Lebron’s viral video using the phrase “Very demure, very mindful.”
“The word ‘demure’ experienced a meteoric rise in usage in 2024. Between January and the end of August, this term saw a nearly 1200% increase in usage in digital web media alone,” the announcement read. “This sharp rise is mainly attributed to TikToker Jools Lebron’s popularization of the phrase.”
According to Dictionary.com, the term ‘demure’ means to be characterized by shyness and modesty and to be reserved.
The original TikTok video posted by Lebron, 31, on Aug. 5, showed her sitting in a car with makeup on as a caption over the clip read, “How to be demure … at the workplace,” before she shared her tips to the camera.
“You see how I do my make-up for work? Very demure, very mindful,” Lebron, who identifies as transgender, said. “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, I’m very mindful while I’m at work.”
“See how I look very presentable? The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job. A lot of you girls go to the interview looking like my Marge Simpson and go to the job looking like Patty and Selma — not demure,” the TikToker joked. “I’m very modest. I’m very mindful.”
The clip was quickly reshared and recreated in other videos shared on the platform with Lebron’s voiceover uttering the phrase “very demure” playing over the top. The video has since garnered five million likes on TikTok.
Lebron sparked the popular use of the word ‘demure’ following her viral video using the word in August.
Lebron, who has become a social media star on the back of the video, acknowledged the announcement of ‘demure’ as the word of the year as she reposted the news on her Instagram Stories on Monday, Nov. 26.
“Between August 2023 and July 2024, there was no significant trend in the usage of the word ‘demure.’ By the week of Aug. 18, 2024, however, there was almost 14 times more interest in the term, highlighting the term’s almost overnight explosion in popularity,” Dictionary.com explained, referring to Lebron’s impactful video.
Lebron told PEOPLE in August of the video attention, “When something like this happens you’re supposed to shy away from appreciating your own impact but I literally love it.”
“I still can’t believe it,” she added. “I’ve been doing this for eleven years and never saw the success I wanted to. So having this moment feels insane.”
