'Polarization' is Merriam-Webster's 2024 word of the year

FILE - An early morning pedestrian is silhouetted against sunrise as he walks through the U.S. Flags on the National Mall and past the US Capitol Building in Washington Monday, Nov. 7, 2022,

The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is "polarization"?