The word sjoemelsoftware has been voted as the Dutch word of the year at the annual Onze Taal congress.

Sjoemelen means cheating, and the word sjoemelsoftware came into being due to the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The official definition is "software used to influence test results".

Dutch word of 2015 runner-ups

Participants of the congress, which was held in Breda, voted on their favourite word of 2015.

In second place came vluchtelingencrisis, or refugee crisis, referring to the "political and social crisis caused by the arrival of refugees from the Middle East". 

Third place went to beefgebied, from the Dutch verb beven (to shake or tremble) and gebied (area). The official definition is "an area where an earthquake has taken place".

This word refers specifically to the areas in the northern part of the Netherlands around Groningen that have been affected by earthquakes caused by the exploitation of natural gas.

Honourable mentions

› Economisme: The tendency to blame all social problems on economic issues.
› Worstangst: Literally it means "sausage fear", and it refers to the 2015 WHO report on the health risks of processed meat.
› Veruberisering: This refers to the controversial Uber service, and a literal translation would be "uberising". It means "services offered by non-professionals".
› Fyra-debacle: the failure of the high speed train project between Amsterdam and Brussels.
› Agreekment: the July 2015 agreements between EU leaders and Greece.
› Pakketdrone: a drone that delivers packages.

Winners in previous years

› 2014: rampvlucht (disaster flight)
› 2013: participatiesamenleving (participation society)
› 2012: plofkip (chickens bred for fast maturation)
› 2011: weigerambtenaar (official refusing to marry same-sex couples)