Dictionary.com adds hundreds of new words, including ‘Zaddy’ and ‘Deadass’
A few hundred new words have been added recently to Dictionary.com. The words total up to 313, plus over 1,200 revised and new definitions for existing words were updated.
Nick Norlen, a senior editor at Dictionary.com, wrote on their site, “Our lexicographers see it all, documenting language change wherever it is happening and defining terms that help us to understand our times.”
That is understandable since these words are not only trendy but have become accepted and widely used.
Historically significant moments. Stunningly advanced AI. Very expensive eggs. The changes can feel like they’re Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. The events are relentless, but so is the pace with which language adapts. https://t.co/zz9pmrLGoj
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) February 28, 2023
Which Words have been Officially Added?
Words like “deadass” mean “seriously.” Petfluencer” describes someone who attracts followers by posting content about their pet. “Hellscape,” which describes someplace that is “hopeless.”
“Microdosing,” or taking a small dose of a drug like LSD or magic mushrooms for mood improvement. “Trauma dumping” is sharing intense, unsolicited information or emotions with others. Words that made the list of updated definitions include “sex” and “woke.”
In the updated definition for the word “woke,” associated with liberal policies and ideologies, Dictionary.com included a connotation referring to a “significant increase” in a negative context in recent years.
On the website, one can also see the addition of standard abbreviations. Some were terms for defining various identities, including “WOC,” for “woman of color,” and “Latine,” which replaces “the anglicized gender-neutral form Latinx.”
https://t.co/DIcR4s1vC1 has released its semi-annual list of new additions, bringing words like "hellscape" and "petfluencer" to the internet's dictionary, while also revising over a thousand definitions. pic.twitter.com/gUyDUlYEvB
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 2, 2023
“Anti-fat,” an adjective, was also added, meaning someone opposed to fatness or fat people. For the word sex, there were revisions to the multiple definitions that account for the general understanding of the different ways one can use the word.
Other Noteworthy Definitions
Sexual minority
You can use it to term a member or members of the LGBTQ+ community, mostly in discrimination against or advocacy for a minority sexual orientation.
Mixed-gender
You can use this adjective when relating to two or more people of different genders.
Abrosexual
This term relates to a person whose sexual orientation is fluid or fluctuates over time. The word is also an adjective.
Multisexual
The word “multisexual” indicates a person romantically or sexually attracted to persons of more than one gender.
You can use it mainly as an inclusive term to describe related sexual orientations such as bisexual, omnisexual, pansexual, and others.
Fan service (noun)
It refers to the material added to a work of fiction that’s appealing to the audience. People mostly use this in materials that are risqué or sexual.
Cakeism (noun)
It refers to the false belief that one can enjoy or benefit from two mutually exclusive choices or have it both ways.
Family office (noun)
The term refers to a financial advisory firm for extremely wealthy private individuals put in place to offer management of all assets, most importantly, one that serves a single family.
Superdodger
This term applies to anyone who stays asymptomatic or uninfected even after repeated exposure to a contagious virus.
Last year, Dictionary.com added the pop culture terms “zaddy,” “oof,” “s–tshow,” and “trigger warning.” Others include “bed-wetting,” “subvariant,” “naloxone,” “self-coup,” “microtransaction,” and many more.
John Kelly, senior director of editorial at Dictionary.com, told USA Today, “The sheer range and volume of vocabulary captured in our latest update to Dictionary.com reflects a shared feeling that change today is happening faster and more than ever before.”
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