The Dutch Language Institute (INT) has named “manosphere” ("manosfeer") the emerging word of the year, while “greedflation” ("graaiflatie") was declared the disappearing word of the year.
According to the INT, the manosphere refers to an online community of men known for macho behaviour, anti-feminist, misogynistic, and sexist views. Although the term first appeared in Dutch in 2016, its use in Dutch-language newspapers saw a notable rise in 2025.
This increase is linked to the release of the Netflix series ‘Adolescence’ in March 2025. The show depicts the arrest of a 13-year-old boy for the murder of a classmate, addressing themes related to the manosphere.
Other words that gained prominence in Dutch-language newspapers during 2025 include “import tariffs" ("importheffingen"), “AI models” ("ai-modellen"), “femicide,” “red line demonstration” ("rodelijndemonstratie"), and “volunteer corps” ("vrijwilligerskorps") in Belgium.
On the other hand, “greedflation” saw a significant decline in usage throughout 2025. The term, which describes price hikes motivated by profiteering under the guise of rising costs, was the word of the year in 2013 and remained common in 2024, but has now faded, according to the INT.
Words such as “Twitter user” ("twitteraar") and “energy price cap” ("energieplafond") also saw less frequent use in 2025.
The Dutch Language Institute tracks word trends on its website woordpeiler.ivdnt.org.
