'Cringe factor,' 'vaxxer' among 'funny' words newly added to Oxford Dictionary

MANILA, Philippines — It's only halfway through 2022 and hundreds of new words have been added to the Oxford Dictionary.

Last year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, new additions included words and phrases such as "WFH (working from home)," "long covid," and "social distancing."

Individuals at Unscrambled Words, often used when playing Scrabble or Text Twist, have compiled some of the new words added to the Oxford Dictionary for 2022.

“Language changes every day to reflect the evolving world around us," a spokesperson for the word solving tool said. "New words and phrases are created through time and passed through generation to generation."

Related: Bongga, kilig, pandesal enter Oxford dictionary

The spokesperson also said such words slowly become part of our vocabulary, and through technological advancements and social media, "language is evolving at a faster rate now than ever before."

Here are some new words of 2022 so far:

• Gaslighter - a person who deceives and psychologically manipulates another into questioning their own perceptions or sanity.
  • "Don't allow yourself to be manipulated by that gaslighter ex of yours, you deserve better."
• Cringe factor - an element or aspect of a situation, or event that causes a person to cringe with acute embarrassment or awkwardness.
  • “The abundance of 'Minions' merchandise everywhere gives off a very high cringe factor.”
• Stress eater - a person with the tendency to eat unhealthily as a means of coping with stress.
  • "My latest project has been so overwhelming, it made me such a stress eater this month."
• Stress bunny - a stressed person or has a tendency to become stressed. 
  • "Not only that, her piled up deliverables is turning her into a stress bunny."
• Sharenting - the practice of sharing news, images, or videos of one’s children on social media.
  • "The couple keeps sharenting about their daughter's achievements at school." 
• Sharesis - a playful word to indicate sharing with another person
  • "Do you have some chips? Sharesies!"
• Soysage - a vegan sausage that is made from soy protein instead of meat.
  • "If there is anyone who is vegan going to lunch, they serve soysages."
• Drooking - a portmanteau, or blend, of drenching and soaking.
  • "I just ran in the hard rain, I'm drooking!"
• Fluthered - another word for being drunk
  • "He's so fluthered, how many bottles of beer did he have?"
• Langered - being very, very drunk
  • "Okay that's definitely too much beer, look how langered he is."

The COVID-19 pandemic appears to still have influence in our vocabulary with new words and phrases such as these:

• Unjabbed - an unvaccinated person
  • "All unjabbed individuals will not be allowed at the event."
• Vaxxer - a person who performs vaccinations
  • "Medical students have been tapped to become vaxxers at public school clinics.
• Vaccine hesitant - being reluctant or hesitant to get vaccinated
  • "Reading all those unverified rumors have made them vaccine hesitant."

RELATED: Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Day: Philippines' ‘bakya’