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Screengrab via Merriam-Webster/Giphy

Merriam-Webster is now on Giphy for all your nerdy reaction GIF needs

Word up.

 

Monica Riese

Internet Culture

Posted on Feb 7, 2017   Updated on May 25, 2021, 1:24 am CDT

If a picture is worth a thousand words, Merriam-Webster just got a little richer.

The dictionary has been dominating headlines recently for its signature snark on Twitter, from schooling Kellyanne Conway on facts to taking a Trump supporter down a notch for a big misspelling. But now it’s upping its #content game with a designated page on Giphy.

That means its celebratory GIF game on Twitter, like so:

Now has an ally in the original content on Giphy like these:

The lexicographical superheroes have uploaded five GIFs so far, each in the same format: a simple moving illustration with the word and definition below. Though a couple of the early entries are traditionally complex words like supercentenarian and prosopagnosia, the others are more common slang: side-eye, face-palm, and ghost (as a verb, natch).

This wasn’t M-W’s only cause for celebration today: The dictionary also just added 1,000 new words to the archives, so hopefully we can expect at least another 995 GIFs in the not-too-distant future. Follow along here for all the latest.

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*First Published: Feb 7, 2017, 6:24 pm CST