Dictionary.com adds hundreds of new entries for 2021, including a few very cromulent words

Dictionary.com has updated its database with a slew of new entries and definitions, many of which were inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, or the last year’s social and cultural movements. But some of the words that have been added are — for lack of a better word — not really words.

As part of its latest update, Dictionary.com has embraced three terms inspired by jokes from sitcoms that aired in the mid-‘90s. Two of the words, "cromulent" and "embiggen," were inspired by a 1996 episode of "The Simpsons," during a scene which hinged both terms being nonsense words. But now, the digital dictionary is legitimizing both of these non-words with official definitions — "cromulent" meaning "acceptable or legitimate," and "embiggen" meaning "to make or become bigger" — and perhaps ensuring that future generations, looking back at ‘90s TV, won’t get the joke. Dictionary.com credits the popularity the third questionable word — "supposably" — to the character of Joey Tribbiani of "Friends," who definitely didn’t invent the term, but may have helped to popularize it in a 1995 episode. Supposably.