Dictionary.com's Finna Look Different

Dictionary.com’s finna step into a new world of racial diversity. 

The site recently updated its database with words from African American Vernacular English and other words and phrases involving race and identity.

With 450 brand new entries and 7,600 updated entries, the website is moving with the changing world that the pandemic and society’s racial reckoning ushered forth.

“This is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure we represent people on Dictionary.com with due dignity and humanity,” Dictionary.com wrote in a statement. 

In addition to capitalizing the “I” in “Indigenous and removing the noun “slave” from dozens of entries, they’ve also included terms like “BIPOC” (Black, Indigenous people of color) and “AAL” (African American Language)

And chile, we are here for it.

Here are a few of the words we’re happy to see added to Dictionary.com (definitions via Dictionary.com).

Finna [ fin-uh ]

• a phonetic spelling representing the African American Vernacular English variant of fixing to, a phrase commonly used in Southern U.S. dialects to mark the immediate future while indicating preparation or planning already in progress:

Oh, no, she finna break his heart!

Chile [ chahyl ]

• a phonetic spelling of child, representing dialectal speech of the Southern United States or African American Vernacular English:

Oh, chile, you do not want to test me!

Antiracism [ an-tee-rey-siz-uhm, an-tahy‐ ]

• a belief or doctrine that rejects the supremacy of one racial group over another and promotes racial equality in society.

Most people are proud if they are not racist, but antiracism establishes a higher bar—what are you doing to dismantle racism?

Critical Race Theory [ krit-i-kuhl reys-thee-uh-ree, theer-ee ]

• a conceptual framework that considers the impact of historical laws and social structures on the present-day perpetuation of racial inequality: first used in legal analyses, and now applied in education, communication studies, and sociology.