Look It Up In The Dictionary
As content creators, we spend a lot of time writing articles and materials. Therefore, it's important to keep brushing up on our writing skills.
Aside from grammar, spelling and style, our choice of words might be one of the most key elements to writing articles that say what we mean and mean what we say.
Our use of words can either convey our message accurately or it can miss the mark entirely.
Words Speak Volumes
The dictionary is a helpful resource for finding out what words mean and their correct spelling. It's even a helpful place to find some new vernacular.
In the spirit of chasing new words to use in your upcoming articles, you might be pleased to know that the Merriam-Webster dictionary (which has been around since 1828), has recently added 370 new words to their dictionary.
Since people change over time, so does the language they use.
That means the dictionary needs to keep pace with the times, just as we do with our businesses.
Some of the New Included Words
This latest update for September 2022 includes many words that people now use regularly in conversation, media and writing.
It's often fun to see what "new" words are now considered officially included in the dictionary.
Some of the new included business words include:
- dumbphone
- video doorbell
- greenwash
- supply chain
- sponcon
- metaverse
- laggy
- altcoin
- side hustle
- unbanked
- gift economy
Other words for general consumption that you might find useful include:
- false positive
- false negative
- subvariant
- janky
- sus
- pumpkin spice
- mojo
- plant-based
- MacGyver
- baller
- cringe
- ICYMI (abbreviation for in case you missed it)
What Do You Think?
I'm not going to define all of these words as that would take too much of your time. Plus, you're probably already familiar with most of them, if not all.
Some of them, you may never want to hear again...I know that's true for me!
Now you have it - some new words you might want to throw into a future post or two.
At least now it's good to know that many pop-culture words are now officially considered "real" words.
I'm sure more will continue to be added over time.
To your continued success!
Recent Comments
79
I love this Susan! I had to laugh at "dumbphone", haha.
Do you know if they ever remove words? Or does the dictionary just keep getting bigger and bigger, lol?
And I wonder where most of these words are spoken? We have some very unique ones up here in Canada...
I've already used a few of those in my videos, so good thing they're legit now!
Cheers,
Suzanne
Hi Suzanne…so glad you enjoyed the post. Dumb phone probably doesn’t mean the obvious, but sometimes I think it could lol. I don’t know if they remove words…good question! It is fun to learn how languages update over time. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Susan :-)
Yes, so many of those words are in use. My granddaughter says I am very "cringe!" I guess that is because I am "old!" LOL
Well, I may be cringe, but I can still "MacGyver" a little of this and a little of that to create something completely new! (I think I got that reference correct?!?)
One thing that always made me laugh when I was growing up was when a teacher or other adult would tell me to look up how to spell something in the dictionary. I would say, and rightfully so, "How can I look it up when I just told you I don't know how to spell it!" LOL
Learning and spelling can be fun!
Karin 😎
That’s great to hear Karin! I appreciate you sharing that. I too can remember being told to look up words in the dictionary once upon a time and it was frustrating lol. You completely get the MacGyver reference. Have a super day! 😊👍🏻
And Auto spell does not help much either, just like looking up words I have no idea how to spell. I can sound them out, but that does not alway work so well in English.
However, thank God for Google. They get it and I just go there, type in the first three letters of the word and blame, darn near there if not there.
F and Ph sound the same in English, foto, photo. Then you get that Texan that says, Hey ya all when it is just you!
And the best is this one.
You can't change the people around you but you can change the people around you.
Mmmm.
I love this post, so much fun and so much to glean from it also.
Super David Scott, the Zamm man.
Yes! You got it correct. English can be so difficult with multiple meanings and spellings.
Have a Super day, David!
Karin 😎
Hi, Susan
We continue to redefine our language. “Urban slang” might not be Oxford English but it’s still an important part of communication.
I’m not even sure we still have a paper dictionary since everything is referencable on-line.
I totally agree that improving our writing skills make our content more understandable and professional.
Frank
Hi Frank…those are certainly good points. You are so right. Who knows what the dictionary will look like as we go on. Thanks for commenting.
See more comments
Susan,
Thanks for the update of dictionary words. These will come in handy when we are around nerds or nerdish people or millennials.
Looks like you are staying on top of things. I am trying to get into audio books. You don't have to read, just listen out for keywords.
I have heard many of the words on your list such as metaverse,
false positive, false negative, janky. I am always in search of new words, so thanks for doing the work for us.
My stepdaughter, Susan, uses ilusm or something similar. I guess it means "I love you so much" (not sure). I'll check with Shadita, she is up on things. Also, we have some of the best writers on the planet, right hear at WA, under our own vine and fig tree.
Thanks for schooling us in, sweet p.
Rachele
p.s. Adding these to my list is exciting
p.s.
Susan I am transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle.
It is just about adding more greens, vegetables and fruit.
By the way, many of the Hollywood celebrities are going green, organic, plant-based, vegetarian or Vegan. It is becoming mainstream. Your microbiome changes and you don't crave ultra-processed foods and it's super great for weight-loss.
ttyl
That’s great to hear Rachele.,,happy to hear you enjoyed the post. Will try to follow up on it. Have an awesome day!
Plant-based diets are on the radar. The healthier you eat, the less junk you’ll crave. Thanks for the share!
Absolutely,
I always admire brainiacs. The more words we know, the better will our blogging experience. Knowledge is power.
Rachele
You know it. I have come a long way because I once had a lot of unhealthy food habits. Doing much better now. You know us young girls have to stay in shape.
Talk later sweet p.
😘
Absolutely! You take good care of yourself ;-)