“Urbex”, “prompt” and “neuroatypical” are among the 42 new words in Petit Robert 2025. According to the publishing house, these additions make it possible to “name the realities of a constantly evolving world”.
Vintage since 2000 and 2005 respectively, the Petit Larousse Illustrated and Le Petit Robert choose each year the new words that will join their pages.
At Larousse, nearly 150 words are added each year. They are chosen according to their frequency of use, their distribution and their potential sustainability.
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One of these choices caused controversy in 2021, when Le Robert included the pronoun “iel”. A decision considered “ideological” for some, “progressive” for others.
Is Le Robert more progressive than Le Larousse? “There are words that we will quickly see in the Robert and which we will not see in the Larousse, the choices may be different. Is it marketing or not? I can’t to say it, I’m not in on the secret!”, replies linguist Aurélie Picton.
>> Read also: The entry of the pronoun “iel” in Le Robert causes a stir
This is not the first time that the evolution of the French language has sparked debate. The appearance of SMS language and anglicisms have also raised the hackles of some people.
>> Listen to the interview with Maria Candea, in Tribu in 2021:
In the RTS show Tribu, in 2021, Maria Candea, professor of sociolinguistics at Sorbonne Nouvelle University, recalls that the French language has already evolved a lot: “When we say ‘the language of Molière’, we have the idea that it has not changed at all since the 17th century. But that is completely false.
