"Complosphere", "flex office", "covidé", the new words of dictionaries

The 2024 edition of the Petit Larousse. © AFP/Fred Dufour

Text by: Edmond Sadaka

1 min

What do the words "covidé", "ecoanxiety", "instagrammable" or "PLS" have in common? They are all part of the words that integrate the 2024 editions of the Petit Larousse and Petit Robert dictionaries.

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As every year, the event is scrutinized with great attention, because it is a reflection of the evolutions of our society. For this vintage, nearly 150 words appear. For example, we can find the term "covidé", to designate a person with Covid. While the word "complosphere", widely used during this pandemic, is supposed to designate, according to Le Robert, those who participate in the dissemination on the internet of ideas deemed conspiracy.

The Petit Larousse gives a good place to Anglicisms increasingly used in everyday life. Thus, we find "flex office", to design the nomadic office or "greenwashing", meaning greenwashing. I do not forget some very modern expressions like "instagrammable", to qualify everything that isworthy of being photographed, then posted on the social network Instagram.

Or the acronym "PLS", used this time as an expression to talk about a state of malaise. When we feel very disturbed, we say "to be in PLS". As in every edition, many personalities make their entrance whether in the Petit Larousse or in the Petit Robert. For example, we can now find IAM, the famous hip-hop group of the 1990s, or the singer Stromae.

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