Words hold a shared definition that people then use to communicate. They would only be grunts and whistles without any agreed-upon value. The power and purpose in words come from a social contract set by our communities and culture. If enough people start using a word differently, the "contract" changes. Researchers studied how the meanings of words evolve and are adopted by speakers of all different ages.
There is a belief that speaker age determines semantic changes in language. Younger generations give new meaning and usage to words, and older people struggle along trying to figure these new interpretations out. The study findings suggest that's not necessarily true.
Students at a table.Image via Canva - Photo by Monkey Business Images
One of the core questions in a 2024 study reported by The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, when a word takes on a new meaning is the shift adopted uniformly across all age groups. The previously held view of sociolinguists was that language evolved primarily through generational turnover. The study writes, "Namely, that apparent time differences may be solely the result of age-grading effects, wherein differences between old and young speakers at one point in time are the result of young speakers linguistically innovating but older speakers reverting to conservative usage patterns, meaning no long-term language change is truly in progress."
What the study found out.
Cheerful group of mixed-age people.Image via Canva - Photo by BraunS
Analyzing over 7.9 million U.S. Congressional speeches delivered over 5 decades, the researchers focused on 100 words that have undergone meaning changes. What they found was that meaning changes were collectively shifted from usage and not generational replacement. As younger people adopted new meanings, older speakers followed quickly. In fact, in some instances, the older person might lead the shift. One of the leading researchers, Gaurav Kamath told PsyPost, "The main result, that older speakers are highly adaptable to new word meanings, was itself a surprise.” Kamath continued, “But the even bigger surprise was that for some of the words we looked at, we even found evidence of older speakers being the ones leading the change.”
Some examples when a word takes on a new meaning:
As language evolves with technology, culture, and social norms, new experiences dictate the necessity for the words to describe and shape them. Words like "selfie" or "podcast" become normal expressions of language. Shifts can follow social changes with words like "woke" or "queer." Language is not fixed. It constantly evolves and innovates to meet the current status quo.
Here are some more examples of new word expressions or modernized meanings:
- Hashtag - once just a symbol for a number or pounds, now it's a topic marker for an online trend
- Streaming - once a word to describe a continuous flow of liquid, now it describes real-time delivery of digital media
- Woke - originally it meant a person was socially aware, currently it has taken on a more political perspective
- Ghost - seen any scary spirits lately, now it's an aggressive means of suddenly cutting off all communication
- Salty - from tasting actual salt, now it also describes being upset and annoyed
- Spam - formerly a canned meat, now it includes unwanted digital messages
- Swipe - used to be just a quick physical motion, now it's liking or disliking someone on a dating app
- Cloud - water vapor in the sky, now it's also online storage and computing
- Viral - once a disease, now something extremely popular on the internet
- Tea - a drink, now gossip or inside information
- Flex - showing muscles, now a brag or showing off
- Karen - a name of a person, now a stereotypical entitled and demanding person
- DM - (Direct Message) a private message on social media
- YOLO - (You Only Live Once) you get this life, so make the most of it
- FOMO - (Fear Of Missing Out) a fear of missing out
- Cap - is a lie
- No Cap - is not a lie
- Selfie - a photo you take of yourself, usually on a phone
- Unfriend - removing a social media contact
Some more recently added vocabulary to our language:
- NPC - (Non-Player Character) a person acting robotic, unoriginal
- Drip - stylish outfit
- Snack - a very attractive person
- Cheese - over the top sillyness
- Sus - suspicious or shady
- Bet - yes or in agreement
"Neuroplasticity," the ability of our brains to adapt and change, continues as we age.
Cool Boomer.Image via Canva - Photo by Oneinchpunch
A 2021 study published in the National Library of Medicine studied language performance balanced against brain, gray matter loss from ageing. The premise was that older adults might have a weaker connection in the language areas of their brains. Surprisingly, those connections didn't weaken because new connections were formed. Even people who had lost some brain tissue, their language skills were maintained because the brain was able to reorganize itself.
Another study published in the National Library of Medicine in 2021 focused on older adults' ability to learn new languages. It analyzed 160 people aged 65 to 75 taking a beginner Italian language class. Using brain scans, they found that short-term learning had no effect on the brain, but a larger hippocampal volume, which is linked to memory, meant better retention. Basically, being smarter was more helpful than any age-related differences.
These studies all suggest that biological age has little to do with the evolution and participation in language changes. Generationally, language might be influenced toward new and trending ideas. However, all generations share the change and add it to their vocabulary.
Janitor mops a hallwayCanva
A group of volunteers clean up trash from a fieldCanva
A monkey looks at its reflection in a mirrorCanva
A happy woman holds up a smiley face balloonCanva
Father talks with son.Image via 
Dad and son sit on the floor flexing muscles.Image via 
"Now I'm intrigued." 
Celebrate the wins.Image via 
Surprised and happy mother.Image via 
A woman feeling under the weather lies in bedCanva
A Carbon monoxide alarmCanva
A happy woman sips from a coffee mugCanva
Woman applies deodorantCanva 
Newlywed leaving the receptionCanva 
A hand reaches out to touch a smart appliance on the wallCanva
A woman shows off her engagement ringCanva 
A wreath made of flowers sits on displayCanva
A collection of supplementsCanva
An elderly man walks down an icy roadCanva 
An elderly man grilling at a partyCanva
Two people enjoying a walk through the woods
A woman pets her dogCanva 
A woman stands in front of a window listening to musicCanva
A group of people sit around a circle talkingCanva
A woman sleeping in bedCanva
Woman proudly displays an "I Voted" stickerCanva
A woman's ear with multiple piercingsCanva
A woman takes a bit out of a huge strawberry cakeCanva
The back of a woman's head with silver hair. Canva
A woman watches the sunset from her carCanva
A nurse holds a clipboard in a hospital hallwayCanva
A heavily-tattooed woman holds a mug of coffeeCanva
Problematic homework question
A student’s brilliant homework answer outsmarted her teacher's ridiculously sexist question
From an early age, children absorb societal norms—including gender stereotypes. But one sharp 8-year-old from Birmingham, England, challenged a sexist homework question designed to reinforce outdated ideas.
An English teacher created a word puzzle with clues containing “UR.” One prompt read “Hospital Lady,” expecting students to answer “nurse.”
While most did, Yasmine wrote “surgeon”—a perfectly valid answer. Her father, Robert Sutcliffe, shared the incident on X (formerly Twitter), revealing the teacher had scribbled “or nurse” beside Yasmine’s response, revealing the biased expectation.
For Yasmine, the answer was obvious: both her parents are surgeons. Her perspective proves how representation shapes ambition. If children only see women as nurses, they internalize limits. But when they witness diversity—like female surgeons—they envision broader possibilities.
As Rebecca Brand noted in The Guardian: “Their developing minds are that little bit more unquestioning about what they see and hear on their screens. What message are we giving those impressionable minds about women? And how might we be cutting the ambitions of little girls short before they've even had the chance to develop properly?”
X users praised Yasmine while critiquing the question. Such subtle conditioning reinforces stereotypes early. Research confirms this: a study found children as young as four associate jobs with gender, with girls choosing “feminine” roles (e.g., nursing) and boys opting for “masculine” ones (e.g., engineering).
Even preschoolers avoided careers misaligned with their gender, proving sexist conditioning begins startlingly young.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The problem spans globally. Data from 50 countries reveals that by age 15, girls disproportionately abandon math and science, while boys avoid caregiving fields like teaching and nursing. This segregation perpetuates stereotypes—women are underrepresented in STEM, and men in caregiving roles—creating a cycle that limits both genders.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
This article originally appeared last year.