'Petfluencer' among over 300 new words added to Dictionary.com

MANILA, Philippines — Digital dictionary Dictionary.com added 313 words to begin 2023, many of them a reflection of modern life and the flexibility of how words are used.

Senior editor Nick Norlen, in his write-up posted on February 28, reiterated the online dictionary's mission to "describe and document language as it is really used (not just how we or others may want it to be used)."

Apart from 313 new entries, Dictionary.com has included 130 new definitions and revised the definitions of 1,140 existing words.

Some often used words in the past that were officially recognized include "cakeage" (modeled on "corkage," but this time for cakes), "nearlyweds" (modeled on "newlyweds," but for partners who've yet to marry), "northpaw" (right-handed boxers, an analogy of the left-handed "southpaw"), and "hellscape."

Terms influenced by modern society include "subvariant" (genetically distinct form of microorganism which arises when a variant of an original strain mutates), "trauma dumping" (one-sided sharing of traumatic experiences or emotions with unprepared people), and "queerbaiting" (a marketing technique intended to draw in an LGBTQ+ audience through LGBTQ+-related themes).

In a similar fashion are new words and definitions formulated by pop culture:

• woke - of or relating to a liberal progressive orthodoxy
• petfluencer - a person who gains a large social media following by posting images or videos of their pet/s
• fan service - material added to a work of fiction for the perceived or actual purpose of audience appeal
• deadass - a slang term for genuinely, sincerely, or truly; in fact. 
• tifo - a coordinated display executed cooperatively or performed in unison by the most fervent supporters and fans
• ecofascism - right-wing ideology that blames environmental harm mainly on poorer nations and on marginalized groups
• climate fiction (cli-fi) - a genre of fiction, encompassing both speculative and realist works, in which climate change and other environmental concerns are major themes

Gaming terms such as "build," "spec," "tank," "healer," "buff" (and "debuff"), "asset," and "render" were all given new definitions.

The last update by Dictionary.com back in October 2022 saw new entries like "simp," "air hug," "demisexual," "at," "bottle episode," "antiwork," "review bomb," and "pawternity leave."

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