Youthquake is voted the word of the year

General election led to upsurge in use as young rushed to the polls

“Youthquake” has been named as Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year following in the footsteps of “omnishambles”, “post-truth” and “selfie” to have been awarded the accolade.

The word – defined as “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people” – saw a fivefold increase in usage between 2016 and 2017 in part due to the general election and the reported increasing mobilisation of young voters.

The word itself is nearly 50 years old having been coined by then Vogue editor Diana Vreeland to describe how youth culture was changing fashion and music – but has seen a resurrection in a more political context over the past 12 months.

Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Dictionaries, said: “Youthquake may not seem like the most obvious choice for Word of the Year, and it’s true that it’s yet to land firmly on American soil, but strong evidence in the UK calls it out as a word on the move.

“We chose it based on its evidence and linguistic interest. But most importantly for me, at a time when our language is reflecting our deepening unrest and exhausted nerves, it is a rare political word that sounds a hopeful note.”

Youthquake was chosen from a shortlist that included “broflake”, a man who is readily upset or offended by progressive attitudes that conflict with his more conventional or conservative views, and “newsjacking”, taking advantage of current events to promote a brand.

Also on the shortlist was “milkshake duck”, a “person or thing that initially inspires delight on social media but is soon revealed to have a distasteful or repugnant past” .