sor not so many ways to read the time we live in: you can observe the great political and social events that mark generations; you can watch the transformations of cities and relationships. But there is also another way: you can observe the words that are borncirculate and impose themselves in common language, revealing new values and sensitivities. It is from this perspective that the Treccani Book of the Year 2025just published byInstitute of the Italian Encyclopedia, offers an accurate snapshot of the twelve months that have just passed.
The Treccani Book of the Year, the words of 2025
The Book proposes, in addition to the story of the events, a specific section on Words of the Yeara map of the neologisms that have marked the public debate, the news and the collective imagination. These are not terms automatically destined to enter definitively into dictionaries: as underlined, in fact, by the linguists of the Treccani Italian Language Observatory, these words “photograph episodes of 2025” and only time will establish which will survive ephemeral use and which will become a stable heritage of the language.
“Pro-pal”, from global politics
Politics, national and international, had a significant impact on the selection of neologisms. Pro-Pal appears among the most recurrenta term that identifies those who support the political cause of the Palestinian people, which has established itself in journalistic language and in public debate.
Brandmauer comes from Germany insteada word that indicates the political isolation of far-right forces of Nazi origin or inspiration, a concept that has become central in the discussion on the democratic future of the country. It is always linked to the Palestinian question sumuda term that encompasses values such as resilience, resistance, hope for the future and solidarity: an expression that goes beyond politics to take on a strong cultural and identity value.
“Maranza” and “zombie drug”, from news and society
Ample space is reserved for words born from the news. Affidopoli has entered the lexicon to describe the alleged scandal linked to the incorrect direct awarding of contracts.
On the side of social phenomena, it is stated “maranza”which in current usage indicates young people belonging to noisy street groups, with flamboyant and provocative attitudes. Journalistic language has also contributed to the diffusion of zombie drugan expression used to indicate Fentanyl: a powerful analgesic opioid, illegally marketed and taken as a narcotic substance.
Technology and new dilemmas: from “AI” to “nudification”
Naturally, the technological revolution has also imposed a new and often problematic vocabulary. Among the most significant terms appears hallucination of artificial intelligenceused to indicate incorrect information produced by AI systems.
It is no less relevant nuditya word that describes the abusive and illegal creation of fake nudes, mostly female, via digital tools. From the world of technological power it comes broligarchya term that defines the small circle of rich and influential men of large hi-tech companies, capable of influencing, or attempting to influence, the political choices of governments. Among the most curious neologisms there is also metatelephone: a transparent plastic rectangle that resembles a smartphone, but is actually fake, a paradoxical symbol of contemporary technological dependence.
Economy, “duties” and “counterduties”
The economy also contributes to the 2025 vocabulary. Economic bullying it is a highly polemical expression used to describe oppressive actions aimed at imposing unfavorable conditions on other actors in the economic or financial system. It enters the language of international trade counter dutythe duty applied as a retaliatory measure, while cryptogate becomes the umbrella term to indicate scandals related to the issuance of cryptocurrencies.
There is also “split eyes”
There is no shortage of words that arise from entertainment and popular culture. Anyunderstood as “anything said out of turn”, pays homage to the character of Cetto La Quale, created and played by Antonio Albanese. The publishing world contributes with romantasya narrative genre that blends intense love stories and adventurous fantasy settings.
It comes from the language of the image “splitting eyes”an expression that indicates a look of extraordinary beauty and intensity, also made famous by Raoul Bova, who even registered the trademark.
Climate change and the “kiss cam”
Alongside these, words related to environmental and urban changes emerge, such as climate refugea public or private place designed to protect from extreme temperatures, or terms that have entered everyday use such as returnwhich indicates the return to the place of origin.
Words born from the observation of contemporary life complete this picture: kiss camthe camera that frames the couples in the stands while they kiss, and keyboxthe combination key box that is increasingly popular in short-term rentals.
Sport as a linguistic metaphor: the Sinner case
Finally, it stands out among the most emblematic neologisms of 2025 unplayablea term that in sporting language is used to define an athlete or team of such a superior level that any competitive comparison is impossible. The word has established itself in the media account of Jannik Sinner’s exploitsbecoming a sort of linguistic seal of his extraordinary season. It is not just a technical adjective, but an effective synthesis of dominance, continuity and absolute superiority, capable of going beyond the boundaries of tennis to enter the common lexicon.
Book of the Year Treccani 2025: a year told in 600 pages
The words are part of a larger work: the Treccani Book of the Year 2025 which retraces 365 days marked by events of great importance. Such as the return of Donald Trump to the White House, the election of Pope Leo XIV, the third year of the Meloni government and the role of Europe in a global context in search of new balances and alliances. The volume also addresses the awarding of Nobel Prizesthe main art, music and cinema festivals, scientific discoveries and technological innovations, with particular attention to artificial intelligence, a terrain of geopolitical competition and source of new ethical questions.
A complex year, therefore, also told through the words that defined it. Because, as Treccani teaches, language does not limit itself to describing reality: it interprets it, fixes it and, sometimes, anticipates it.