Slang words only Millennials will understand
Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, developed a vocabulary drawn from hip-hop, LGBTQ ball culture, and the particular anxieties of growing up alongside the internet. That vocabulary is now being gently mocked by Gen Z as hopelessly dated.
If you grew up saying any of these, you know exactly how old you are.
Adulting
The word “adult” was first used as a verb meaning “to mature” as early as 1909, but its modern usage, meaning to conduct oneself like a responsible grown-up with reluctant irony, first appeared on Twitter in 2008, according to Mental Floss. Filing taxes, scheduling a dentist appointment, and cleaning the bathroom all qualify. Gen Z mocks it precisely because it implies that basic adult functions are achievements worth announcing.
FOMO
An acronym for “fear of missing out,” FOMO is an anxiety that social media has created but previously had no word for. According to SlangWise, it describes the nagging feeling of seeing friends at a party you were not invited to, or skipping a concert and watching the Instagram stories roll in. FOMO gave an entire generation a clinical-sounding term for something their parents never had to name.
Slay
Slay means to perform brilliantly, to look extraordinary, to succeed in a way that invites admiration. But according to Bored Panda and The Merge, the word earned its current meaning in the 1980s and 1990s ball culture, where LGBTQ people of color used it to celebrate a competitor’s outfit or performance. It entered the mainstream Millennial vocabulary through social media and now belongs to the broader culture, though its origins in Black and queer communities are worth knowing.
Basic
Basic entered the Millennial vocabulary as a dismissive adjective for someone whose tastes were predictably mainstream. According to Mental Floss, in the 2010s, this meant UGG boots, yoga pants, and pumpkin spice lattes. It became immediately self-defeating: calling someone basic became so widespread that it became basic.
YOLO
An acronym for “you only live once,” YOLO is the optimistic inverse of FOMO. Mental Floss, which dates to the 1960s, gained traction as a Millennial slogan in the early 2010s. It was typically used to justify impulsive decisions: emptying a bank account to travel, skydiving, ordering dessert. Its popularity peaked and collapsed quickly, which is itself very Millennial.
Ghosting
To ghost someone is to disappear from a relationship or conversation without explanation or warning. The Merge notes that it became a trending term in the online dating world before expanding to professional contexts. Getting ghosted by a date, a contractor, or an employer is now a recognized experience with a name.
Low-key
Low-key functions as a modifier meaning subtly, quietly, or somewhat. “I low-key love this song” means you like it but would not necessarily advertise that publicly. According to SlangWise, it expressed something felt but not shouted, a hedge for people with strong opinions who valued appearing nonchalant.
Wrap up
The Millennial vocabulary borrowed from drag culture, hip-hop, Black vernacular English and the emotional landscape of early social media, and wove all of it into texts and tweets. Gen Z has since built its own language on top of it. That is how slang works. Every generation takes the words of the one before and makes them their own.
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Related:
- Boomer-era slang & sayings Gen Z doesn’t understand
- 10 slang words from the ’70s that used to be cool but aren’t anymore
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