“Ghosted,” “Salty” Most Popular Slang Words Of 2022

Pretty much everyone uses slang, but we don’t always know what it means, new research reveals. A poll of 15-hundred adults in the U.S. by the online language platform Preply finds that we’re using slang even more than a year ago, 94% say they do this year, up 10% from last year. But most of us (89%), turn to the Internet to find out what a slang term means.

The survey also finds:

  • Social media and the Internet is where nine in 10 respondents say they learn slang from, with 31% learning from TikTok and another 20% learning slang from Twitter.
  • Other top sources of slang include friends (69%) and TV, movies and music (51%).
  • More than half (54%) of those surveyed use slang in most of their conversations and they use it to get their point across quickly (32%), because they hear a lot of slang (27%) and to express their feelings (20%).
  • The younger you are, the more likely you are to use slang, according to the poll. Nearly all of Gen Z respondents (98%) say they use slang, as did 97% of millennials, 91% of Gen X and 81% of baby boomers.
  • Most respondents feel that slang has its place, with 84% reporting they look down on using it at work. But more than half (56%) say they still use it in front of their colleagues. And nearly three-quarters (73%) say it’s not okay to use slang on a first date.
  • “Ghosted” is named the most popular slang term, followed by “salty” - which means “being exceptionally bitter, resentful or angry.”
  • Other top slang words include “catfish,” “low-key” and “savage,” as in “not caring about consequences.”
  • But more than half (59%) of those surveyed say they’re annoyed by slang and “bae” has been named the most annoying slang term, followed by “on fleek” and “rona.”

Source: USA Today


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