Dictionary.com updated more than 15,000 entries on its website in what it called a "major — and extremely rare" move in the "dictionary world," The Hill reports.
The online dictionary said changes like capitalizing Black in reference to people and replacing references to "homosexual" are part of the site's biggest update to date.
The overhaul included adding 650 new entries for words, 2,100 new definitions, 1,200 new etymologies, 1,700 new pronunciations and more than 11,000 revised definitions, according to a Tuesday statement from the site.
According to the statement, "capitalizing Black confers the due dignity to the shared identity, culture, and history of Black people. It also aligns with the practice of using initial capital letters for many other ethnic groups and national identities, e.g., Hispanic."
In addition to capitalizing Black when referring to people, the statement noted the site created an entirely new entry for Black in reference to people, which will help keep the reference of people apart from other uses of black "whose dozens of definitions range from senses extending from a core meaning of darkness, to related senses involving dirt, and even metaphorical uses involving evildoing."
"Dictionaries are not merely a linguistic exercise or academic enterprise," the Tuesday statement said. "What are the effects of Black, referring to human beings, being grouped together with black, which can mean, among other things, 'wicked'? The effects are social. They are psychological. They are personal. How words are entered into the dictionary — especially words concerning our personal identities — have real effects on real people in the real world."
The Hill reports Dictionary.com also replaced references to the word "homosexual," such as using "gay, gay man, or gay woman." Now, references to "homosexuality" are referred to as "gay sexual orientation."
Changes will also made to definitions of words that use the "-sexual" suffix, such as bisexual or pansexual. Previously, definitions used the phrasing "romantically or sexually attracted to," but, under the new changes, it will now use "romantically, emotionally, or sexually attracted to."
"Not only do these revisions help eliminate heterosexual bias in language, they also help better convey the diversity and richness of — and take Pride with a capital P in — human sexual experience and identity," the site said.
There were also sweeping changes made to entries involving mental health. All instances of "commit suicide" were replaced to say "die by suicide" or "end one's life." The changes were made because that is language is "preferred by mental health professionals and suicide prevention specialists," according to the site.
"The moralistic verb commit is associated with crime (in the justice system) and sin (in religion), deepening the emotional pain surrounding this sensitive but important subject — and thickening the barriers to talking openly about it," the Tuesday statement said.
The word "addict" has been removed as a noun to avoid reducing a person to a "label."
"Referring to people with addictions as addicts or alcoholics reduces them to a label — and one long connoting moral failure and weakness of character — and defines them by only a single aspect of their complex humanity," the statement said.
Several slang words such as "GOAT" and "janky," as well as movement names like "MeToo" have been added to the site.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.