A raft of new words have made their way into our vocabulary and dictionaries: Vote on your fave

“Cozzie livs”, “Barbiecore”, “Matildas” and “gravy day” have all received mentions in the word of the year honours. See all the words on the list and have your say.

In a year where cost of living and climate change have dominated the agenda, artificial intelligence has risen as a force for both good and bad (think deep fakes), and the power of social media and ‘influencers’ has been questioned — it’s fitting the words crowned by two dictionaries as their words of the year are ‘cozzie livs’ and ‘authentic’.

We can thank a global paranoia about the sinister power of AI, and pop sensation Taylor Swift’s search for her real self, for Merriam-Webster’s recently revealed Word of the Year for 2023 — authentic.

“Authentic saw a substantial increase in 2023, driven by stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media,” Merriam-Webster said in a statement announcing its choice this week.

“Authentic has a number of meanings including ‘not false or imitation’, a synonym of real and actual; and also ‘true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character’. Although clearly a desirable quality, authentic is hard to define and subject to debate — two reasons it sends many people to the dictionary.

“Authentic is often connected to identity, whether national or personal: words frequently modified by authentic include cuisine and dish, but also self and voice. Celebrities like singers Lainey Wilson, Sam Smith, and especially Taylor Swift all made headlines in 2023 with statements about seeking their ‘authentic voice’ and ‘authentic self’ … and with the rise of artificial intelligence and its impact on deep fake videos, actors’ contracts, academic honesty, and a vast number of other topics, the line between ‘real’ and ‘fake’ has become increasingly blurred. Authentic is what brands, social media influencers, and celebrities aspire to be.”

‘Cozzie livs’ — a colloquial phrase for cost of living — was earlier crowned the Macquarie dictionary’s word of the year, with honourable mentions going to ‘algospeak’ — coded language used on digital platforms to replace words relating to things like sex or violence that will result in a post being taken down — and ‘blue-sky flood’, meaning a deluge is coming, even though the sun is shining.

The latter reflects our concerns around global warming and ominous climate change.

Taylor Swift’s search for her ‘authentic self’ helped propel a word to becoming most searched. Picture: Getty Images

Rising cost of living has given birth to the new dictionary term ‘cozzie livs’. Picture: NewsWire

Meanwhile, Australians voted for ‘generative AI’, ‘skimpflation’ and ‘rizz’ as their new words of choice, Macquarie said.

Skimpflation, which means a reduction in the quality or quantity of a product or service while the price remains the same, is something we can all relate to as chocolate bars gets smaller but more expensive, while to ‘rizz’ means to charm or seduce.

Barbiecore — thanks Margot Robbie and your hot pink vibes — and ‘spicy cough’ were also added by Macquarie this year.

The Australian National University (ANU) has selected a word of the year too — one that’s distinctly Australian: Matilda.

The soaring popularity of the Australian women’s soccer team the Matildas after their semi-final run at this year’s Women’s FIFA World Cup saw the university’s experts allow Matilda to waltz in as its word of choice for 2023.