Have you noticed that in the past few years, certain words we’ve never even heard of have become newly-minted verbs, bandied about in classrooms, restrooms, and even boardrooms? It’s amazing, and it must be driving linguists nuts. Not sure what I mean? Keep reading! Here are 8 new verbs for our decade.
1. Facebook
As I scan the library where I’m sitting right now, I have a great view of the computer screens of about 40 students, and with a few exceptions, they’re all Facebooking. That is, they’re all using the Facebook online social network, tagging photos, semi-stalking ex boyfriends, and posting status updates that say something like, “at the library, doing homework.”
2. Friend/Unfriend
This is a set of verbs related to Facebooking. Friending someone, of course, means adding them to your network of friends on Facebook. Unfriending someone means deleting them from your list of friends… by the way, recently unfriended people don’t get messages letting them know they’ve been deleted… in case you’re wondering… so expect that some of them may try to re-friend you.
4. Like/Dislike
Here’s a second set of verbs related to Facebook, connected now to so many news, shopping, and entertainment websites. If you “like” something on Facebook, your friends will see it, spreading the word about something as significant as a news event or a new pair of wedges, or something as silly as a friend’s status update about studying at the library. While there’s no way to dislike something on Facebook, people still say it all the time.
