These are the words that defined the decade

Milkshake ducks, influencers, and all the tea

Ben Kothe / BuzzFeed News When you start to think about the things that didn't exist until the 2010s, you'll have that disorienting realization that many of the social apps, streaming services, dating platforms, ride-hail startups, and virtual assistants integral to our everyday lives are barely a few years old. And as technology has evolved in the last decade, so has our vocabulary. The proliferation of new products and services has directly informed how we talk: The '90s was the decade when photoshop became a verb; the '00s were when we coined the term to google; and the 2010s were when we did the same thing to Venmo, Netflix (and chill), Uber, Postmates, and Shazam — activities that are so specific and new that we had to verb the proper name. Would the 2009 you understand anything you say in 2019? The number of smartphone users took a rapid jump in the last 10 years, and internet access has become nearly constant for most Americans. Online conversation has made it much easier for new voices to be heard, and for new slang to be adopted by the public. In the past decade, the influence on our general lexicon from people of marginalized groups and communities of color — specifically black, queer, and drag cultures — has been particularly monumental. The 2010s might be remembered as an era when these voices were elevated to and recognized (or sometimes appropriated) by the mainstream. It's all a lot to keep track of! So in true BuzzFeed fashion, we decided to make a list of 33 words that defined this decade. Here's a look at a few of them. canceled (adjective) Netflix / Giphy The (often facetious, but sometimes deadly serious) public condemnation of someone whose behavior or belief system is so distasteful that the person is no longer relevant or desired. In the US, you're canceled — but if you do something repugnant in the UK or Canada, you're cancelled. Used in a sentence: "Gritty is going to get himself canceled." —Remy Smidt deadass (adjective, adverb) Twitter: @lilnasx To be completely serious. Often used to add strong emphasis. Like many of the words in this list, deadass was popularized in the black community. Misusing it has led to people getting dragged. influencer (noun) BBC America / Giphy A personality with several hundred thousand followers on a social media platform, typically Instagram, who leverages their photogenic lifestyle for clout, content, and money. Used in a sentence: "Influencers say they're not pressed about Instagram testing hiding likes in the United States starting this week, despite what some headlines would lead you to believe." —Tanya Chen milkshake duck (noun) Twitter: @pixelatedboat A once-beloved person or character whose seedy history or belief system is unearthed and blights their short-lived virality and charm. Coined in 2016 by Twitter personality @pixelatedboat, this term exploded in popularity and even appeared as a Jeopardy! clue in 2018. Used in a sentence: "The potential for Jeff Goldblum to go milkshake duck on all of us is still there, as it is for every man." —Bim Adewunmi   From the BuzzFeed Style Guide: milkshake duck is two words, but as a verb — to milkshake-duck — it's hyphenated. tea (noun) Disney+ The gossip. The truth. The best information. Like a lot of slang, tea (sometimes just T) originated in black drag culture but has seen increasingly mainstream usage over the past few years. You can sip it, spill it, and call it weak. That's tea. Used in a sentence: "The screenwriter behind the 1994 film Forrest Gump has spilled the tea on what would've gone down in the film's proposed sequel and why it was ultimately scrapped." —Michael Blackmon yeet (verb) @teabagcartoon / Giphy A word that lacks an agreed-upon definition, though akin to hitting the eject button. Since no one can apply a definition to it, we're left with cringey signs like this, evidently written by Steve Buscemi's character in 30 Rock. Used in a sentence: "Just yeet me into oblivion, please." —Salvador Hernandez Read the rest of the list on BuzzFeedNews.com.  A24 / Giphy 3 Things We've Loved Over the Last Few Weeks Singular they is Merriam-Webster's word of the year. The Apostrophe Protection Society called it quits. 😥 Dictionary.com got...existential.  Got any burning style-related questions? Drop us a line at bfstyleguide@buzzfeed.com. And finally, a meme:   Twitter: @styleguide Copy quibbles? Grammar questions? Something you want to see here? Talk to the BuzzFeed copydesk: @styleguide on Twitter or reply to this newsletter. Share us with your friends — click here to subscribe. If you'd like to catch up on past editions of this newsletter, click here. And make sure you check out the BuzzFeed Style Guide. All definitions, etymologies, and other information in this newsletter were found via Merriam-Webster.com, the Online Etymology Dictionary, Collins Dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary, and Wordsmith.org, unless otherwise noted. View our privacy notice and cookie policy. BuzzFeed, Inc. 111 E. 18th St. New York, NY 10003 Unsubscribe