MACQUARIE Dictionary has announced “infovore” as the Word of the Year 2013 from a list of new words selected for inclusion in the annual update of the online dictionary. 

According to the dictionary, the meaning of “Infovore”  is a person who craves information,  especially one who takes advantage of their ready access to it on digital devices.

The Macquarie Committee believed the coinage of the word was a response to the perception that we now had access to information all the time, thanks to smart phones.

The Committee also gave honourable mentions to “firescape” – meaning to landscape (an area) with the possibility of bushfire in mind, as by growing fire-resistant plants, creating firebreaks with gravel, concrete, etc., eliminating flammable wood or plastic items, “cli-fi”; a genre of speculative fiction based on the premise that climate change will give rise to fundamental changes in the way human beings live, while the People’s Choice winner went to “onesie”; a loose-fitting one-piece suit, usually of a stretch fabric, gathered at the wrists and ankles and loose at the crotch.

People’s Choice Category winners: 

• Agriculture – dining boom
• Arts – fanfic
• Business – showrooming
• Colloquial – facepalm
• Communications – churnalism
• Eating and Drinking – coffee cupping

• Environment – firescape
• Fashion – onesie
• General Interest – watch and act
• Health – enabler
• Internet – Streisand effect
• Politics – marriage equality
• Social Interest – generation debt
• Sport – barefoot running
• Technology – dumb phone

For a full list of nominated words and their definitions please visitwww.macquariedictionary.com.au