Dictionary Adds Gender Neutral Prefix Mx., Bestie, Fleek

Dictionary.com added 150 new words, including the Mx. prefix for those who do not identify as a boy or girl. The company also added bestie, feels, fleek, sapiosexual, and kk.

The full list is on their blog.

They define Mx. as “a title of respect prefixed to a person’s surname: unlike Mr., Mrs., or Ms., it does not indicate gender and may be used by a person with any or no specific gender identity.”

Jonathan Dent, assistant editor to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), told The Sunday Times that “The title is the first new honorific to be accepted as an addition to the current set of gender identifiers.”

“This is an example of how the English language adapts to people’s needs, with people using language in ways that suit them rather than letting language dictate identity to them,” he explained. “When you look at the usual drop-down options for titles, they tend to be quite formal and embrace traditional status such as the relationship between a man and wife, such as Mr and Mrs, or a profession such as Dr or even Lord. This is something new.”

Here are a few more definitions:

bestie: Informal. a person’s best friend.

feels: Informal. strong, often positive feelings.

fleek: Slang. flawlessly styled, groomed, etc.

kk: Informal. (used in text messages and other digital communications) okay; OK.

sapiosexual: a person who finds intelligence to be a sexually attractive quality in others.