Article content Itâs not news to say that 2020 was an unprecedented year. It brought us the pandemic, just for starters. But 2020 was unprecedented in another way. For the first time, the OED concluded that no one word could represent the rapid evolution of the English language demanded by such a wealth of unprecedented events. And so it took the unprecedented step of creating a Words of an Unprecedented Year report. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser. Blacklock: Why Glasgow should be 2021âs word of the year Back to video Of the 16 words selected, many were pandemic-induced: Coronavirus, for example, and lockdown. Social distancing. Superspreader. Some achieved renown through social and political tumoil in the USA: mail-in (ballot), impeachment, Black Lives Matter, cancel culture.