'Demure' is Dictionary.com's Word of the Year

This year, as Brat summer started to wind down, a new supreme was rising: Jools Lebron.

In August, Lebron went wildly viral on TikTok for a series of videos where she explained how to be "demure" in different situations. She made videos about being demure and mindful at job interviews and the workplace, while boarding and deboarding an airplane, while walking around town, and just about every other situation one would need to be demure in.

"You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure. Very mindful," she says in her video, which has over 5 million likes and 54 million views at the time of this writing. "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."

The videos went so viral, that Lebron was able to make enough money to pay for housing, her transition, and help several friends.

"Demure, which Dictionary.com has traditionally defined as 'characterized by shyness and modesty; reserved,' has taken on an expanded meaning this year to signify refined and sophisticated appearances or behaviors," Dictionary.com said in a press release announcing the word of the year. "Demure represents a cultural shift in attitude toward personal presentation and appearance as in-person experiences become the norm again after years of remote and hybrid routines."

According to the site, Demure saw a 1200% increase in usage in digital media this year and had 200 times more searches on Dictionary.com.

"Its evolving meaning gives people a way to express quiet confidence," the press release said, "embracing modesty and charm as intentional, empowering choices."