Merriam-Webster Just ‘Embiggened’ The Dictionary – With A Bunch Of Millennial Slang
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March 6, 2018I’m going to be honest…
The ONLY person I’ve EVER heard say “embiggen” is Mock… and I thought she was just being hilarious. (The Chick is as funny in real life as she is in Chickworld, folks. F’real.)
It turns out my boss is just WAY hipper to the millennial lingo than I am… this despite the fact that I am the millennial of the two.
Anyway… “embiggen” …. and a bunch of other not-real words, have been added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
(The fake one. The unabridged version remains free of millennial gibberish. Don’t fret.)
According to BPR:
“The language doesn’t take a vacation and neither does the dictionary,” Merriam-Webster advertises, announcing it added a myriad of words to its online dictionary to keep up with evolving vocabulary and creation of new terms in areas of life including news, technology, Twitter and the like. “If you’re likely to encounter a word in the wild, whether in the news, a restaurant menu, a tech update, or a Twitter meme, that word belongs in the dictionary,” Merriam-Webster wrote.
New words include “glamping,” “mansplain“ and “subtweet.“ Other adopted words include “embiggen” to denote something getting bigger, and “welp,” which Merriam-Webster defines as an informal way “to introduce a remark expressing resignation or disappointment.”
Other additions include “dumpster fire” and “narcissistic personality disorder,” which is defined as “a personality disorder characterized especially by an exaggerated sense of self-importance, persistent need for admiration, lack of empathy for others, excessive pride in achievements, and snobbish, disdainful, or patronizing attitudes.”
None of these words exist, however, in Merriam-Webster’s unabridged dictionary.
Merriam-Webster lexicographer Emily Brewster tweeted “Happy Embiggened Dictionary Day!” while Merriam-Webster tweeted about why “dumpster fire” is now a coined phrase in the dictionary.
Happy Embiggened Dictionary Day! https://t.co/Ug0qQbZY9g
— Emily Brewster (@eabrewster) March 5, 2018
After considering its widespread and meaningful evidence of use, we’ve put ‘dumpster fire’ in the dictionary. Feel free to GIF it as you like. https://t.co/XImxk6c0EY
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) March 5, 2018
“After considering its widespread and meaningful evidence of use, we’ve put ‘dumpster fire’ in the dictionary. Feel free to GIF it as you like.” https://t.co/XImxk6c0EY
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) March 5, 2018
I’m sorry… but I thought this was what Urban Dictionary was for?
Anyway… you can no longer tell people “embiggen” isn’t a proper word… ‘cuz it’s totally in the dictionary.
