x
Breaking News
More () »

'Silver fox,' 'zaddy' among new additions to Dictionary.com

Other new entries include cultural appropriation, ingénue and long hauler.
Credit: ajr_images - stock.adobe.com
Close-up portrait of man with gray hair and a beard dressed in a black leather jacket.

INDIANAPOLIS — More than 300 new words and definitions have been added to Dictionary.com.

Words have been added to reflect the evolving landscape and language of today's society, including COVID-19, racial equity, and pop culture and technology changes.

"The latest update to our dictionary continues to mirror the world around us," said John Kelly, managing editor for Dictionary.com, in a press release. "Long COVID, minoritize, 5G, content warning, domestic terrorism—it's a complicated and challenging society we live in, and language changes to help us grapple with it."

Here are some of the new additions: 

  • 5G: fifth-generation: being or relating to communications technology or a mobile device that supports much faster data-transfer speeds with significantly lower latency than previous versions.
  • asynchronous: relating to or being a computer operation that can occur independently, without waiting for another event.
  • content warning: abbreviation: CW; a stated warning that the content of the immediately following text, video, etc., may upset or offend some people.
  • cultural appropriation: the adoption, usually without acknowledgment, of cultural identity markers from subcultures or minority communities into mainstream culture by people with a relatively privileged status.
  • DEI: abbreviation; diversity, equity, and inclusion: a conceptual framework that promotes the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially in the workplace, including populations who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination because of their background, identity, disability, etc.
  • domestic terrorism: the unlawful use of violence or threats against a country's civilian population or government by an individual or group based and operating within the same country and without foreign direction, with the goal of furthering political, social, or ideological objectives.
  • deplatform: to prohibit (a person or people) from sharing their views in a public forum, especially by banning a user from posting on a social media website or application.
  • ghost kitchen: a commercial facility that prepares and cooks restaurant-style food for delivery directly to customers or to one or more dine-in restaurants.
  • hypodescent: the classifying or identifying of a biracial or multiracial individual as a member of the lower or lowest socially ranking racial group from which that person has ancestry.
  • ingénue: the role of a young, innocent, and appealing character in a play, movie, TV show, etc., typically a female role.
  • JEDI: abbreviation; justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion: a conceptual framework that attempts to redress disparity and inequality in society, promoting the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially in the workplace, including populations who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination because of their background, identity, disability, etc.
  • long COVID: a condition characterized by symptoms or health problems that linger or first appear after supposed recovery from an acute phase of COVID-19 infection.
  • long hauler: Pathology. a person who experiences symptoms or health problems that linger or first appear after supposed recovery from an associated acute illness or active infection.
  • minoritize: to make (a person or group) subordinate in status to a more dominant group or its members.
  • oof: an exclamation used to sympathize with someone else's pain or dismay, or to express one's own.
  • side hustle: a job or occupation that brings in extra money beyond one's regular job and main source of income.
  • silver fox: an attractive older person with gray or silver hair, especially a man.
  • scrappy: having or showing spirit and determination, especially in spite of obstacles.
  • synchronous: relating to or being a computer operation that must complete before another event can begin.
  • theater: a public display of action or speech that gives a false impression of accomplishing or promising something, merely for the sake of appearances.
  • y'all: you (used in direct address usually to two or more people, or to one person who represents a family, organization, etc.).
  • yeet: an exclamation of enthusiasm, approval, triumph, pleasure, joy, etc.
  • zaddy: an attractive man who is also stylish, charming, and self-confident.

What other people are reading: 

Before You Leave, Check This Out