DICTIONARY.COM ADDS MORE THAN 1,500 NEW, UPDATED, REVISED WORDS TO THE WORLD'S PREMIER CATALOG OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The dictionary's new terms and meanings reflect the multiverse-like complexity of modern life: they are at once serious (self-coup, rage farming, trauma dumping), amusing (petfluencer, hellscape), and everything in between (liminal space)

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dictionary.com, the leading online and mobile English-language educational resource, today announced 313 new entries, 130 new definitions for existing entries, and 1,140 revised definitions, as the dictionary works to keep pace with the ever-changing English language.

Some of the key themes and words in its update include a multiverse of vocabulary (cakeage, nearlywed, hellscape); modern problems (pinkwashing, cyberflashing); identity (WOC, latine, anti-fat); sex, gender and relationships (folx, sexual minority, multisexual); pop culture and slang (petfluencer, fan service, tifo); politics and current events (self-coup, woke, cakeism); health (988, subvariant, microdosing); gaming (render, asset, spec); and even bread (dosa, bhakri, paratha).

One of the most notable updates includes the adjustment of primary headword anti-Semitism to antisemitism. As explained in the new usage note at the entry, Dictionary.com's decision to use the closed (no hyphen) and fully lowercase spelling antisemitism for the primary headword reflects the widely preferred single word form that Jewish groups, and many style guides, including those of major publications, have also adopted. This change does not involve a new definition; the word, as always, means "discrimination against or prejudice or hostility toward Jews."

Other key additions include various new terms that have emerged to capture the specificity of phenomena shaped and accelerated by online culture and digital discourse, especially the case for behaviors considered toxic or harmful, including rage farming, trauma dumping, and queerbaiting.

"Language is, as always, constantly changing, but 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," said John Kelly, senior director of editorial at Dictionary.com. "Our team of lexicographers is documenting and contextualizing that unstoppable swirl of the English language—not only to help us better understand our changing times, but how the times we live in change, in turn, our language."

Dictionary.com's newest list of terms can be found at https://www.dictionary.com/e/new-dictionary-words-winter-2023/.

About Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com

Words define every aspect of our lives, from our ideas to our identities. Dictionary.com aspires to empower every person, of every background, to express themselves, make connections, and open the door to opportunity through the power and joy of language. Introduced in 2023, Dictionary.com's powerful AI-backed writing tool, Grammar Coach™, takes writing from good to great instantly. Dictionary.com is the premier destination to learn, discover, and have fun with the limitless world of words and meanings. The brand helps you make sense of the ever-evolving English language so you can put your ideas into words—and your words into action.

SOURCE Dictionary.com