New words – 27 March 2023

three young adults laughing as they stand in a muddy puddle
SolStock / E+ / Getty

dirty wellness noun [U]
UK /ˌdɜː.ti ˈwel.nəs/ US /ˌdɝː.t̬i ˈwel.nəs/
activities that involve being outside in nature and getting dirty, thought to be good for people’s physical and mental health

When I first heard about “dirty wellness,” a philosophy that espouses leaving our sanitized, hermetically sealed existence behind and reconnecting with good old-fashioned bacteria-laden dirt, I wanted to try it without really knowing what it entailed. It sounded fanciful and fun.
[arlingtonmagazine.com, 6 October 2022]

sensehacking noun [U]
/ˈsens.hæk.ɪŋ/
the activity of stimulating all five senses in order to become happier and healthier

Sensehacking — a big wellbeing trend for 2023 — highlights the crucial role that senses play in our everyday lives. Our senses can change how we feel almost instantly, so this trend is all about becoming happier and more productive by “hacking” our senses … Simply put, sensehacking means using the power of our senses to improve our mood.
[redonline.co.uk, 15 December 2022]

disease X noun [C usually singular]
/dɪˌziːz ˈeks/
a currently unknown virus or bacterium that has the potential to cause a serious epidemic

Disease X. It’s an ominous concept. A mysterious and dangerous pathogen that we don’t know, but we do know is out there – waiting to make a deadly jump from an animal or bird into an unsuspecting person, and take off on a viral killing spree.
[telegraph.co.uk, 25 January 2023]

About new words

8 thoughts on “New words – 27 March 2023

  1. Disease X reminds me of Planet X [in some Looney Tunes cartoons].

    I thought at first that dirty wellness was dirty HEALING.

    And then there is sensehacking.

    Turns out that our senses are quite easily hacked and tuned.

    Well, my senses are, anyway.

  2. Bruna Guissi

    Dirty wellness was definitely the highlight for me; the expresison was quite intuitive and the explanation made total sense.

  3. Raeesa Javed

    I really like sensehecking and dirty wellness as I am focusing on increasing my happiness, so would try activities related to both.

  4. Ion Vladutu

    Limiting the number of entries for the so-called new words, we may avoid this new trend in linguistics to give new names for the same cow.

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