Dictionary.com has a new list of over 1,500 words.
On Tuesday, the site released a new entry(opens in new tab), along with updates and revisions of existing words. Some of them may already be familiar to you. Others can be controversial because of their social and political importance.
But John Kelly, senior director at Dictionary.com, told Mashable that the new terminology and updates “just reflect a change in culture.”
Trauma Dumping, Rage Farming(opens in new tab)and queerbaiting, usually used to describe harmful or toxic behavior, have all debuted.(opens in new tab)Cyberflash(opens in new tab)and cakeism(opens in new tab) also appeared for the first time.
and while you’re awake(opens in new tab) Dictionary.com has long appeared as a canonical entry, but Dictionary.com has updated its entry for this word to include how it is used negatively to slander.(opens in new tab) “Liberal and progressive orthodox”.
Dictionary.com’s latest updates cover social justice issues, accessibility tech and the global climate crisis
Kelly said some additions were “words that define modern issues”(opens in new tab),” shows how rapidly languages are evolving online.
The term trauma dumping(opens in new tab) More recently, it describes “the unsolicited sharing of traumatic or highly negative experiences or feelings in inappropriate settings or with people who are not prepared to interact.” It has become a familiar method. In late 2021, Mashable described the trend as “a symptom of much more complex issues” related to social media use, including changing expectations of what is appropriate to share publicly and mental health. Described restrictions on access to treatment.
rage farming(opens in new tab) was It was coined by spyware, malware and disinformation researcher John Scott Railton.(opens in new tab)and “the tactic of deliberately provoking political opponents, usually by posting inflammatory content on social media, in order to elicit an angry response and gain high engagement or broad exposure for the original poster.” used to define
queerbaiting(opens in new tab)can represent “marketing techniques that include deliberate homosexual or LGBTQ+ themed suggestions intended to engage an LGBTQ+ audience without explicitly including overtly LGBTQ+ relationships, characters, or people.” (Um, Harry Styles(opens in new tab)) is guilty of using tactics. Last year, Mashable contributor Katie Baskerville argued that using the word has the effect of questioning someone’s sexuality in a negative or accusatory way.
Kelly said such language has been called “a problem fueled by what it means to live online in a digital context.”
The update also includes catchphrases related to gender, sexuality and relationships, such as abrosexual(opens in new tab), Volks(opens in new tab), sexual minorities,(opens in new tab) and multisexual(opens in new tab)Kelley said these words reflect the fact that for many people sex is not a binary experience and sexuality is fluid.
Kelly said some people might expect the dictionary to reflect “some kind of reality,” while others might feel uncomfortable with words that don’t define gender as a binary experience. I’m here. In fact, opposition to such representations is central to conservative campaigns aimed at restricting what children learn about gender and sexuality in schools.
Kelly said on Dictionary.com:(opens in new tab) There was no opinion on whether certain words should or should not be used, but it is the lexicographer’s job to document how people talk about their lives.
“This language is changing no matter what,” Kelly said. “You can’t stop the natural, organic evolution of language.”
