Q.
You might have heard that ‘parasocial’ is Cambridge Dictionary’s 2025 recipient of word of the year. Its meaning? The vivid ‘relationship’ a person feels with someone they don’t actually know, such as a celebrity, a bot, or a fictional character. ‘Oh, Kate. What has Hal done now?!’

What kind of words might we see nominated for next year? Which words or phrases have been burbling up over the last few months?

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A.

Each month, the Cambridge Dictionary website offers up a selection of trending new words – these are words that have not yet been accorded full dictionary status. Here’s a sampling from the past few months, with definitions written in our own words…

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Dry Texting
Have you ever taken a beat when you send someone a fulsome, friendly question, and they respond with the least words possible. ‘Yes’. ‘No’. ‘Maybe.’ This minimalist approach is referred to as ‘dry texting.’

Cool.

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Broccoli Perm
This hair is abundant and curly on the top, short everywhere else.

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Quadrobics
Are the neighbourhood dogs smug or confused? Either way, those high-energy humans are indeed bounding about the park on all fours. Some are dressed like animals, some just like to feel the extra burn.

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Best Friend Dictionary
Do you share insider words with your besties? Are there nicknames or phrases that only the two of you understand? Welcome to the best friend dictionary. See TikTok for reams of enactments.

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Medium Friend
Speaking of besties: this ain’t it. This person is closer than a nodding acquaintance, but nowhere near the short list.

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Newstalgia
What’s old is new again. Well, sort of. In ‘newstalgia’ – we’re looking at fashion, home decor, kitchen geegaws – there is that warmth of the familiar, but the details have been tweaked and modernized.

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Ber Month
This feels like one of those phrases that some people are going to hate. We’re talking September, October, November, December.

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Blobbery
Now, here’s a word one can get behind. Blobbery is what you see when you go to a garden where the shrubbery has been carved into lovely round shapes.

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Townsizing
Tired of vacationing in loud, tourist-jammed cities? Set your sails for a peaceful, charming village instead.

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