Blackout, moderate or perception: the 10 words of the year – and the explanation for each

Or even the elevator, the elections or the flotilla. The Porto Editora initiative already has 10 finalists, voting is open.

The 10 finalists were announced for Word of the Year. The initiative, explains Porto Editora, has as a priority “highlighting the lexical richness and creative dynamism” of the Portuguese language”.

The second part should be highlighted: creative dynamism. Because, directly or indirectly, this initiative ends up portraying much of what happened in Portugal – or in the world – throughout the year in question.

Just look at what happened last year, with “freedom”, the result of the extensive celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April. Or “teacher”, the winner in 2023; or “war” in the previous year and “vaccine” in 2021. And so on.

The 10 finalists in 2025 are:

Agent (IA)
The official explanation reads that Artificial Intelligence agents have proliferated in different applications: services, public, education, health and communication. More than that, the frequently asked question is: how many people are you going to?

Blackout
April 28th. The date of the year could also be a candidate. The day Portugal and Spain came together, in a surprising, unprecedented scenario. A blackout that goes down in history.

Elections
Another year, another legislative election. With local authorities a few days ago. And yet, with presidential elections in 2026 – a subject that already constantly fills the media.

Elevator
One of two tragic contexts on this list. The derailment in September, which killed 16 people, was one of the darkest days in Lisbon’s history.

Flotilla
It’s a recent context: few would know what a flotilla is, but they started to know when Mariana Mortágua, Miguel Duarte and Sofia Aparício set off towards Gaza.

fireworks
It wasn’t the last year, it won’t be the only one. But 2025 was one of the years in which more hectares in Portuguese forests.

Immigration
It was a topic throughout practically the entire year. Between the controlled and the uncontrolled, between the need and the .

Moderate
Here, if it were an expression, it would be “moderate income”. Miguel Pinto Luz, Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, said that the Government stipulates moderate income as the maximum limit in Portugal. And, from then on, the analyzes and reactions didn’t stop.

Perception
The word that dominates political debates and conversations between friends. Even without anyone saying so. We talk about a subject – security, health or corruption – because someone has a perception (even without data), whether in the cafe or in Parliament. In many conversations, perception is more present than… the truth.

Tasker
To close this list in alphabetical order, focus on Health: workers – who are paid for each task or for a certain amount of time working – are increasingly working in hospitals. Especially doctors hired by the hour.

Voting for is open.