Dadbod, amirite, TBH and FTW are now in the dictionary.
Merriam-Webster has added 455 new words to its dictionary, including a number of abbreviations and slang terms that have become quite popular on social media.
“Just as the language never stops evolving, the dictionary never stops expanding,” the nearly 200-year-old Springfield, Massachusetts-based company said on its website. “New terms and new uses for existing terms are the constant in a living language.”
The dictionary company said the quick and informal nature of messaging, texting, and tweeting, which has only increased during the pandemic, has “contributed to a vocabulary newly rich in efficient and abbreviated expression.”
Among them: “TBH”, an abbreviation for “to be honest” and “FTW,” an abbreviation for “for the win.”
Merriam-Webster explains that FTW is used “especially to express approval or support. In social media, FTW is often used to acknowledge a clever or funny response to a question or meme.”
And it says “amirite” is a quick way to write “am I right,” as in, “English spelling is consistently inconsistent, amirite?”
The coronavirus pandemic also looms large in the collection of new entrants as “super-spreader,” “long COVID” and “vaccine passport” made the list.
Merriam-Webster announced the newly added words on its website, saying “Just as the language never stops evolving, the dictionary never stops expanding.” https://t.co/77RCTN6fON
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) October 29, 2021
Did you see some of these words coming?
Photo| iStock
