“Skibidi”, “tradwife” and “delulu” are among the new words to have made this year’s Cambridge Dictionary in a selection that confirms the increasing influence of the TikTok generation on the English language.
For those hoping that such neologisms would be a passing internet craze, the compilers of the dictionary say they are here to stay.
“Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary,” said its lexical programme manager, Colin McIntosh.
“It’s not every day you get to see words like ‘skibidi’ and ‘delulu’ make their way into the Cambridge Dictionary. We only add words where we think they’ll have staying power.”
Older generations and those not on TikTok will have just to get used to words such as skibidi. Children often use it to add emphasis to statements. It became popular thanks to Skibidi Toilet – a viral animated video that began on YouTube featuring human heads protruding from lavatories.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines skibidi as “a word that can have different meanings such as ‘cool’ or ‘bad’, or can be used with no real meaning as a joke’, an example of its use is: ‘What the skibidi are you doing?’”
People older than generation Alpha tend to greet the use of the word with despair . The US writer and artist Lee Escobedo wrote in the Guardian earlier this year: “Skibidi brainrot encapsulates a generation fluent in irony but starved for meaning. This kind of hyper-chaotic media serves as both entertainment and an ambient worldview for young men raised online. Their minds normalise prank-as-expression.”
The tradwife phenomenon, which dates to a least 2020, has also been widely criticised. It refers to socially conservative influencers who celebrate looking after their husbands, children and homes and post about it on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The dictionary definition says a tradwife is “especially one who posts on social media”.
Delulu, an abbreviation of delusional, is less controversial, but has become associated with a post-truth world where personal beliefs are more important than reality. Its dictionary entry defines it as “believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to”.
Delulu emerged more than 10 years ago as an insult directed at obsessive K-pop followers fans to question their belief that they would date their idols. The term “delulu is the solulu” for manifesting your wishes has been viewed billions of times on TikTok. The phrase “delulu with no solulu” was used earlier this year by Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to attack his opponents in parliament.
“Broligarchy”, a term for the tech industry leaders on whose platforms many of these new words are spreading, also makes it into the dictionary.
Merging “bro” and “oligarchy”, the dictionary says it refers to “a small group of men, especially men owning or involved in a technology business, who are extremely rich and powerful, and who have or want political influence”.
Other new entries in the dictionary include “mouse jiggler”, a post-pandemic device or piece of software used to make it seem as though you are working when you are not.
“Work spouse”, meanwhile, is a phrase for workplace relationships where two people help and trust each other, according to the dictionary.
Discussion about this post