Girlboss, Thirst Trap, Rizz: The meaning of these Gen-Z words and more added to Merriam- Webster's dictionary

Dictionaries are also evolving along with the continuously updating language of Generation Z.

After Dictionary.com revealed its newest entries earlier this month, Merriam-Webster is now in the spotlight.

It has added an unbelievable 690 words from all walks of life in the most recent version.

Finding out which slang terms made it into such a prestigious dictionary is quite exciting.

This round, too, did not disappoint.

Let’s take a closer look.

Also read: Explained: ‘Homer’, Cambridge Dictionary's Word of 2022, and the Wordle link

Words added to the dictionary

The famous dictionary announced the addition of new terms and definitions in a news release.

“We’re very excited by this new batch of words,” said Peter Sokolowski, Editor at Large at Merriam-Webster, adding, “We hope there is as much insight and satisfaction in reading them as we got from defining them.”

Numerous new words, such as Thirst trap, chef’s kiss, grammable, and beast mode, have been introduced to the famed dictionary. Other slang terms such as doggo, rizz, goated, bussin, and simp were also added.

However, it could be difficult to include all the different ways we use each slang term in a single, concise explanation.

For instance, Girlboss is only defined as “an ambitious and successful woman (especially a businesswoman or entrepreneur).”

According to the press release, the terms grammable – meaning “suitable to be posted on Instagram,” and finsta, which refers to a “secret or incognito account on the Instagram photo-sharing service,” were also added to the list.

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Thirst trap is yet another term that means urgently trying to get attention.

Beast mode, which means a momentarily adopted excessively aggressive or energetic style or manner by someone (such as an athlete), was also included.

Doggo is short for “dog,” and jorts is a portmanteau of denim shorts.

Padawan is no longer just a term used in Star Wars to describe a young Jedi pupil. Merriam-Webster just formalised it as a generic noun meaning “young people, especially when regarded as naive, inexperienced, etc.”

Finally, the made-up word cromulent, which is used to describe things that are “acceptable” or “satisfactory,” was also added.

It’s not the first time that a Simpsons-related word has appeared in a dictionary; Merriam-Webster included embiggen back in 2018.

The dictionary also included food-related terms like zhuzh, meaning “a small improvement, adjustment, or addition that completes the overall look, taste, etc. of something,” and chef’s kiss, which is “a gesture of satisfaction or approval made by kissing the fingertips of one hand and then spreading the fingers with an outward motion.”

The abbreviations TFW (“that feeling when”), ngl (“not gonna lie”), and TTYL (“talk to you later”) were also included, along with the word UAP (“unidentified aerial phenomenon”).

Also read: Meriam-Webster names gaslighting as its word of the year: What does it mean?

With inputs from agencies