We Are Official: The Word “Sheeple” Has Been Added to the Dictionary

The folks at Merriam-Webster have a great sense of humor, and whoever runs their Twitter account is a social media genius.

Yesterday, they shared this addition to their dictionary with Twitter:

Wake up!

'Sheeple' is in the dictionary now. https://t.co/pbXVADEoBm

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) April 27, 2017

To this, someone asked…

@MerriamWebster @ajchavar What is the singular?

— Dan Kois (@dankois) April 27, 2017

And this clever Twitterer replied…

@dankois @MerriamWebster Eweman being

— AJ (@ajchavar) April 27, 2017

@ajchavar @dankois @MerriamWebster pic.twitter.com/WBSsvpZWaj

— T.J. Raphael (@TJRaphael) April 27, 2017

@matt_heath @MerriamWebster pic.twitter.com/GpdIn0qFZF

— Greg Ellner (@GregoryEllner) April 27, 2017

@MerriamWebster Nice try, Global Grammar Conspiracy, but there's no way you're going to mind-control me with your so-called "dictionary"!

— Gwen Gilpin (@Gwennie_G) April 27, 2017

@MerriamWebster not baaa-d!

— Alexis (@piptal) April 27, 2017

@MerriamWebster It's Happening!

— αиgєℓιqυє ? (@angeliquerene) April 27, 2017

@MerriamWebster Should I retweet this? Seems like other people are.

— Stuart Brown (@_stuart_brown_) April 28, 2017

@MerriamWebster It applies to more than half the human population so it checks out

— Hadi Hemmat (@Hadi_Hemmat) April 27, 2017

@MerriamWebster Arrgh.. why do we always have to wake up? Don't sheeple ever sleep? Is sleeple a word?

— Kelly A (@kma2718) April 27, 2017

Here’s the full entry on their website:

Definition of sheeple

informal

• people who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced :  people likened to sheep
• James Nichols, who ran the family farm here, stamped dollar bills with red ink in protest against currency and told his neighbors that they were “sheeple” for obeying authority like livestock. — Sara Rimer and James Bennet
• Apple’s debuted a battery case for the juice-sucking iPhone—an ungainly lumpy case the sheeple will happily shell out $99 for. — Doug Criss

It’s quite fitting that Merriam-Webster threw a little shade at Apple products and their users in that definition…considering they added that term to their dictionary earlier this year…

We added shade to the dictionary. https://t.co/dbxSsggzLo pic.twitter.com/4bpkoJVvAF

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 7, 2017

The slang definition of shade is “to express contempt or disrespect for someone publicly especially by subtle or indirect insults or criticisms.”

Well played, Merriam-Webster. Well played.