New Words 2016: Interesting Words Added To Merriam-Webster’s Open Dictionary For 2016
It’s early in the year, but new words for 2016 are being added to the Merriam-Webster Open Dictionary. As new words and slangs emerge and make their way into daily conversations and online communication, they become more relevant. Lexicographers gradually add more words to the dictionary from their compiled list. In this instance, many are contributing to the fascinating list.
Some of the newest words in 2016 have already made their way on Merriam-Webster’s Open Dictionary website. Several pages worth of new words for the year are listed on the site by named contributors. Only a fraction of them will be listed here. Many are interesting words that represent two words combined into one.
Here are some of the latest additions to Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s website.
Accentophile: A person who enjoys foreign accents.
Belignorant: Of being belligerent and ignorant.
Breakfunch: A small meal eaten between breakfast and lunch.
C-suite: Executive officers of a business.
Concharge: To be in charge and in control.
Confungry: Confused and angry.
Definotly: Definitely not.
Equalist: A person who believes that all people are created equal regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or general beliefs.
Fabulize: To make fabulous.
Gayborhood: A neighborhood where the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people live and/or work
Jokative: Causing laughter.
Mantrum: A man experiencing a tantrum.
Misophonia: An annoyance or anger by the sound of someone eating.
Niblings: A person’s nieces and nephews.
Prospiracy: A secret plan to do something beneficial for another person or group of people.
Qualitatious: Of good quality.
Shooista: A person very passionate about shoes.
Silent Generation: The generation born from the mid-1920s to the early 1940s.
Sillerious: Silly and serious.
Smellucination: An olfactory hallucination — the perception of a smell when there is no source for that smell.
Workstream: An area focus within a project.
The Open Dictionary on Merriam-Webster’s website is interested in what users have to contribute. On another page of its site, the 10 Top User Submitted Words of Volume I were revealed.
Aughties: The years 2000 through 2009.
Bankster: A bank executive who engages in reckless or predatory financial practices.
Celebrichef: Chef for a celebrity.
Cyberjack: To alter or use electronic information without permission (as for identity theft).
Glitten: A fingerless glove usually with an attached flap covering for the fingers.
Jockumentary: A documentary about the topic of sports or a sports athlete.
Snain: A mixture of snow and rain.
Unshop: To return unpurchased merchandise to the shelf while shopping.
Webliography: A list of references gathered from internet sites.
Whale Tail: Exposed waistband of thong underwear.
Merriam-Webster tweeted a report by USA Today that states people are expanding their word usage, thanks to the 2016 election year in American politics — especially Donald Trump. The report states Merriam-Webster saw a 4,000 percent spike in website traffic for two days after Donald Trump used the word “disavow” in denouncing the endorsement of former KKK leader David Duke in his presidential campaign. The word joined the top 1 percent of look-ups on the site.
“Disavow” means “to refuse to acknowledge or accept.” It also means to “deny responsibility for” and is another way of using the word “repudiate.”
A new study released by Merriam-Webster revealed that 41 percent of the words researched during the presidential campaign were Trump-related. Among the top-trending words were the terms “tycoon,” “pussyfoot,” and, “schlong.”
For Hillary Clinton’s part, she accounts for 11 percent of the vocabulary look-ups for words in 2016 on Merriam-Webster. Among the words users have looked up after Clinton’s rallies and speeches, “evitable,” “litmus test,” and “redact” have spiked interest. These terms were presumably referencing emails she’s being investigated for.
President Obama is behind the 15 percent of the top words in 2016 so far. That includes “cudgel” — thought to refer to the White House’s recent complaint that some people were trying to use the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as a “political cudgel.”
A “cudgel’ is defined as a “short heavy club.”
There will be a large volume of interesting words for 2016 that will come out by the end of the year.
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