New words in english dictionary
The English language is constantly evolving, and new words are being added to the dictionary all the time. Here are some recent additions to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, and other dictionaries:
2022 additions:
- Vaxxer (noun): a person who has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
- Infodemic (noun): a situation in which there is a large amount of information available about a particular topic, but much of it is unreliable or misleading.
- Zoom fatigue (noun): the feeling of exhaustion or burnout caused by excessive video conferencing.
- Social distancing (noun): the practice of maintaining a safe physical distance from others to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.
- Maskne (noun): acne caused by wearing a face mask.
2021 additions:
- Woke (adjective): aware of and actively anti-racist.
- Cancel culture (noun): the practice of boycotting or ostracizing individuals or groups who have said or done something considered offensive or unacceptable.
- Climate anxiety (noun): a feeling of worry or concern about the impact of climate change.
- Digital nomad (noun): a person who works remotely and travels frequently.
- E-scooter (noun): a type of electric scooter.
2020 additions:
- Pandemic (noun): a widespread outbreak of a disease that affects a large number of people across multiple countries.
- Quarantine (noun): a period of isolation or confinement, especially as a measure to prevent the spread of a disease.
- Social distancing (noun): the practice of maintaining a safe physical distance from others to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.
- Contact tracing (noun): the process of identifying and tracking individuals who have come into contact with someone who has a contagious disease.
- Flatten the curve (phrase): to reduce the number of cases of a disease, such as COVID-19, to prevent overwhelming healthcare systems.
Other recent additions:
- Binge-watching (verb): to watch multiple episodes of a TV show in one sitting.
- Self-care (noun): activities or practices that help to improve one's mental and emotional well-being.
- Hashtag (noun): a word or phrase preceded by the symbol #, used to identify a topic or theme on social media.
- Troll (noun): a person who posts offensive or provocative messages online.
- Viral (adjective): extremely popular or widely shared online.
These are just a few examples of new words that have been added to dictionaries in recent years. The English language is constantly evolving, and new words are being added all the time!