Dictionary.com has updated thousands of entries and added hundreds of words in its largest release to date, a reflection of how society and language have evolved even in just the past few months.
“The work of a dictionary is more than just adding new words. It’s an ongoing effort to ensure that how we define words reflects changes in language and life,” said senior editor at Dictionary.com, John Kelly, as per a report in CNN.
“Our revisions are putting people, in all their rich humanity, first, and we’re extremely proud of that”, he added.
The update includes the capitalization of Black, an increasingly popular move by many websites and news organizations as White America begins to reckon with race.
The word “gay” replaced “homosexual,” and “gay sexual orientation” replaced “homosexuality.” The decision was made to remove “the implication of a medical diagnosis, sickness, or pathology when describing normal human behaviors and ways of being,” Dictionary.com said in its release.
List of words added to Dictionary.com:
- Twitch: the proprietary name of a live streaming video platform, primarily delivering video game content with audio commentary and concurrent online chat among viewers.
- whitesplain: (of a white person) to comment on the minority experience or explain racism to a person of color in a condescending or blaming way, as to point out accommodating behaviors that the victim of racism might have adopted to diffuse interracial conflict.
- zhuzh:to make (something) more lively and interesting, stylish, or appealing, as by a small change or addition (usually followed by up).
- ace: an asexual.
- Afro-Latina: of or relating to Black Latinas with African ancestry.
- Afro-Latino:of or relating to Black Latinos with African ancestry.
- Afro-Latinx: of or relating to Black Latinx with African ancestry (used in place of the masculine form Afro-Latino or the feminine form Afro-Latina).
- alcohol use disorder:a chronic relapsing disorder characterized by alcohol abuse or dependence, as compulsive use of alcoholic beverages, the development of physical or psychological symptoms upon reducing or ceasing intake, and decreased ability to function socially and professionally.
- amirite: an informal variant spelling of the phrase “am I right” used to elicit agreement or solidarity at the end of an observation, or used facetiously to undermine or mock the preceding observation.
- assistance animal: an animal that is able to provide physical or emotional assistance to a person living with a disability, as alerting a deaf person to the sound of a doorbell.
- biromantic: noting or relating to a person who is romantically attracted to people of two specific and distinct gender identities, as both men and women.
- brownface: imitation of a minority group member’s appearance, speech, traditional dress, etc., by a person who is not a member of that group.
- deadname: the previous name of someone who has changed that name, especially the pretransition first name of a trans person.
- dead white male: one of a group of white male writers, scientists, or other historical figures whose works have traditionally dominated the field or been a disproportionate part of the school curriculum in the West.
- DGAF: to not care at all (a euphemistic initialism used to indicate an indifferent or unbothered attitude, without explicit vulgarity).
- ecoanxiety: anxiety caused by a dread of environmental perils, especially climate change, and a feeling of helplessness over the potential consequences for those living now and even more so for those of later generations.
- emotional labor: the sum of small acts performed by one person to make other people’s lives more pleasant and to protect them from negativity, including hiding the effort required to do so.
- Filipinx: of or relating to natives or inhabitants of the Philippines (used in place of the masculine form Filipino or the feminine form Filipina).
- gender-inclusive: relating to or intended for any gender; gender-neutral.
- GOAT: greatest of all time.
- jabroni: a stupid, foolish, or contemptible person; loser.
- janky: untrustworthy; disreputable.
- MeToo: a social media hashtag of solidarity used by survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault in a public disclosure of a past or current personal experience to demonstrate the prevalence of abuse:
- pinxy: of or relating to natives or inhabitants of the Philippines (used in place of the masculine form Pinoy or the feminine form Pinay); Filipinx.
- sharent: a parent who frequently shares such personal information on social media.
- swole: (especially of a man) very muscular.
- techlash: a strong negative reaction or backlash against the largest technology companies, or their employees or products.
- trans+: of or relating to people with gender expressions outside traditional norms, as transgender, genderqueer, agender, or nonbinary.
