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Here's Lookin' You Up: 'Austerity' Named Word of the Year

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Are the words we use a reflection of the world we live in? That could be the case for 2010, when the most-oft looked up word, according to word experts Merriam-Webster, was austerity. A bit bleak? Perhaps. Blame the economy. "Searches for the word began to spike in May, around the time when Greece began battling its debt crisis with harsh austerity measures," explains Slate. Work "austerity" into a few sentences from here on out, and it'll be part of your vocab in no time.

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