Dua Lipa and Simone Biles have reinvented the 2024 word of the year

The 2024 word of the year selected by Cambridge Dictionary has been given a reinvention thanks to celebrities like Dua Lipa and Simone Biles.

The term “manifest” has gained traction on TikTok and other social media, as a positive thinking movement to welcome uplifting changes into one’s own life.

Manifest now has a new, modern meaning. You may manifest a life goal, such as a new job or a house, or perhaps a better dating life. Some people may manifest changes in their life by speaking them out loud, whereas others may choose to write them down.

Lexicographers explained that the term ‘to manifest’ has evolved. The current definition is, "to imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that doing so will make it more likely to happen".

If you’re a pop icon like Dua Lipa, you might manifest a headline performance at Glastonbury. The ‘Levitating’ singer repeatedly talked about how she manifested her dream slot at the iconic festival this summer.

“I've written this moment down and wished for it and dreamt it and worked so hard,” she said in between songs.

Seven-time Olympic gold medal winner Simone Biles has also shared her manifestations. Years before achieving a high-profile collaboration with Wheaties, Biles kept a homemade Wheaties box with her face on it in her childhood bedroom.

The term 'manifest' has been searched almost 130,000 times on the Cambridge Dictionary website this year.

Wendalyn Nichols, publishing manager of the Cambridge Dictionary, said the way people use the word manifest has "widened greatly across all types of media due to events in 2024, and it shows how the meanings of a word can change over time".

However Dr Sander van der Linden, author of The Psychology of Misinformation and Professor of Social Psychology at Cambridge University, said the idea of manifesting success has no scientific validity.

Simone Biles has spoken about manifesting.en.m.wikipedia.org

“Manifesting is what psychologists call ‘magical thinking’ or the general illusion that specific mental rituals can change the world around us,” he said.

“Manifesting gained tremendous popularity during the pandemic on TikTok with billions of views, including the popular 3-6-9 method which calls for writing down your wishes three times in the morning, six times in the afternoon and nine times before bed. This procedure promotes obsessive and compulsive behaviour with no discernible benefits. But can we really blame people for trying it, when prominent celebrities have been openly ‘manifesting’ their success?

“’Manifesting’ wealth, love, and power can lead to unrealistic expectations and disappointment. Think of the dangerous idea that you can cure serious diseases simply by wishing them away".

With that said, manifesting — or establishing a habit of positive thinking — isn’t a waste of time.

“There is good research on the value of positive thinking, self-affirmation, and goal-setting,” he added.

“Believing in yourself, bringing a positive attitude, setting realistic goals, and putting in the effort pays off because people are enacting change in the real world.

“However, it is crucial to understand the difference between the power of positive thinking and moving reality with your mind – the former is healthy, whereas the latter is pseudoscience.”

How has the word ‘manifest’ changed over time?

The word has a 600-year history, and the oldest example comes from Geoffrey Chaucer, who is known as the “Father of English Literature”. He spelled it “manyfest” in the 14th century, using it as an adjective meaning ‘easily noticed or obvious’.

Manifest was used in American Politics in the context of “manifest destiny”, the belief that American settlers were destined to expand across the North American region.

Shakespeare used manifest as an adjective, such as in The Merchant of Venice: “For it appears, by manifest proceeding, that...thou hast contrived against the very life of the defendant”.

More recently, the word manifest has been used as a verb, such as symptoms of an illness can manifest themselves.

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