Every year, new words emerge in daily conversation, and they frequently stem from popular culture, social and political issues, and technological innovations from around the world. Language is evolving right before our eyes, and as Peter Sokolowski, the Editor at Large for Merriam-Webster, explains, “Language is a measure of culture, but also, in many ways, language can be a measure of time.” 

The following list reflects the latest must know words that are now part of our lexicon in the current world and even a few “old” words you won’t believe have been in use since years ago. Read ahead to find out the words that we think everyone should learn to keep up with the current world.

Hearsay [Law]:

The report of another person’s words by a witness is usually disallowed as evidence in a court of law.

In the simplest of terms, it means rumours.

In the Celebrity trial where the former Pirates Of The Caribbean star Johnny Depp has filed a defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, It’s really hard to miss the sheer number of times each of their attorneys has said “Hearsay” when the other is giving their testimony.

Metaverse [Tech]:

A virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.

It is a fast-advancing tech world, metaverse is a vague idea of making technology more immersive and interactive with the help of virtual and augmented reality technologies like VR Headsets, AR glasses, etc.

Apple, Google, Facebook, Snap and many other major industry giants are now focusing their efforts on building a metaverse.

Poison-Pill [Business]:

A shareholder rights plan, also known as a poison-pill strategy, is a defence tactic used by a company’s board of directors to prevent or discourage a hostile takeover attempt by an external party.

In April, After Elon Musk bought 9.2% of Twitter, he suddenly offered $43B to buy out the whole of Twitter.

In this case, Elon Musk trying to buy out Twitter. This enables all the shareholders (except Elon Musk) to buy more shares at a discount rate, which 

Sanctions [Politics]:

A threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.

Sanctions are also weapons of war, just not with guns, missiles and armies. Sanctions are economic weapons which are used to impose severe economical limitations on a state, which can isolate it from the Global Economy.

In response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine under the pretence of a “special military operation,” many nations have imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia in hopes that this will make Russia reconsider its stance.

Fitra [Religion]: 

It is the mandatory zakat (charity) that all capable Muslims must pay at the end of the month of Ramadan before Eid, hence the name “Eid Ul Fitr”. It has to be given to the less privileged people so that they can also celebrate Eid in good condition. 

JWST [Science]:

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope built in an international collaboration among NASA, ESA & CSA. It is a space telescope designed primarily to conduct infrared astronomy. The most powerful telescope ever launched into space, its greatly improved infrared resolution and sensitivity will allow it to view objects too old, distant, and faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope was named after NASA Administrator James E. Webb between 1961 to 1968. He was a crucial figure in the Apollo program. 

Apartheid [Crime]:

Apartheid originated from the South African system of institutionalized racial segregation that lasted from 1948 to 1990. In 2002, International Criminal Court defined it as inhuman acts committed to establish and maintain domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them.

Apart from South Africa, examples of such crimes have been observed in China, North Korea, Israel, Myanmar, and a few more countries.

While this writing is in an article format, we are currently working on trying to bring a more interactive and easier format to bring the readers new words to learn every day.

This article was written in collaboration with Faeeja Humaira Meem and An-Najmus Saqib Muaaz, my fellow nerdfighters, because, as John Green once said, the things we do in life are not nearly as interesting and important as the people we do it with.

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