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The Oxford English Dictionary adds 700 new words and phrases to its latest update including vaxxer, bully van and ankle grazing

A whopping 700 words and phases have been added to the latest update of the Oxford English Dictionary.

With language forever evolving, the fresh amendments spanning March to June, see words, sub-entries and sayings added, updated or revised - often with a nod to popular culture or events in the news, which have provided words or phrases that are becoming or are expected to soon be commonplace.

The Oxford English Dictionary is updated a number of times each year
The Oxford English Dictionary is updated a number of times each year

Last year for example the coronavirus pandemic saw additions to the dictionary including PPE, long covid, social distancing and furlough while in perhaps an ongoing sign of the times, unjabbed, vacine hesitant and vaxxer appear among the latest list for this year.

Society's changing attitudes to gender and sexuality see Terf, which stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, added for the first time alongside multisexual, pangender and gender expression while our approach to climate change and the impact of eating meat could be the motivation for vegan-alternative 'soysage' making the final cut this time around.

A number of words associated with the pandemic have been added since last year
A number of words associated with the pandemic have been added since last year

The new words are added based on data collected from a variety of sources including song lyrics, the news and social media that will indicate how common or uncommon they are.

And while the dictionary may include words or phrases that may be problematic or felt to be offensive, their addition to the Oxford English Dictionary is not condoning or approving of their usage in any way, but merely confirming that they are indeed used.

How many of these 12 words do you recognise?

700 new words and phrases have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary in its latest update (58079904)
700 new words and phrases have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary in its latest update (58079904)

With the help of the team at website Unscrambled Words, who have trawled the hundreds of new entries to find some of the more unique and unusual, we've picked out 12 new arrivals to have made it into the latest Oxford English Dictionary update.

A spokesperson for the online word game said: "Language changes every day to reflect the evolving world around us. New words and phrases are created through time and passed through generation to generation.

"Hundreds of new words such as these are added to the dictionary every year which slowly become part of our vocabulary. Through technological advancements and the ever-growing use of social media, language is evolving at a faster rate now than ever before.

"These words and phrases may be new to us in 2022, however in coming years they will be more widely incorporated into our vocabulary."

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