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Political debates with family or friends can get heated. But what if there was a way to handle them better?

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Bob Collins

December 5, 2012 4:46 AM

The words of the year

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Merriam Webster -- the dictionary people -- have determined that "Socialism" and "capitalism" are the words of the year.

The selection is based on the number of times people searched for a word on the firm's website. That's odd, considering that in matters of public discourse, almost no one seems to know the actual meaning of Socialism.

Last year's word of the year was "pragmatic."

If you're keeping score on these things, Dictionary.com last month selected "bluster" as its word of the year.

Oxford American Dictionary has selected "GIF" as its word of the year.

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