“Chemical submission,” “crazy,” Léon Marchand, “spoiled”: Larousse and Petit Robert present the new arrivals in the dictionaries

This is pure madness. Don't run away, this word is now labeled by the Robert , in which it is making its debut, along with "chemical submission" and "prompter." In total, " 150 new words, expressions, and meanings are joining the pages of the Petit Robert of the French language ," the publishing house enthuses in a press release published Wednesday, May 14. For its part, the Larousse will include "K-Drama," "bader," and "intimacy coordinator."

Following several cases involving women drugged for rape, including Gisèle Pelicot, the term " chemical submission " has entered the dictionary, as has " chemsex " (a contraction of the English words chemical and sex), used to refer to consensual sex under the influence of substances. In the same vein, the profession of intimacy coordinator, which appeared on film sets in the wake of the #MeToo movement, will be included in the 2026 Petit Larousse illustré.

Ecology is also at the forefront with the appearance of " mermaid's tears or sea tears " to describe these small plastic beads " which, accidentally released into the oceans (usually when a container falls), permanently pollute marine ecosystems ."

While some words have been in the closet for a long time, " some have been coined recently, such as "prompter ," says the Petit Robert . This means " to make a request in natural language to a generative artificial intelligence ."

On the colloquialism side, there are several new ones, such as " c'est carré " (to say " it's okay, it works" ), "une dinguerie " or even the affectionate term " gâté.e ", a tribute to the Marseille expression "Oui ma gâtée" rapped by SCH in the intro of Bande organisée , a famous title by the Marseille rap collective.

Also welcome to K-Drama, these trendy Korean series or the sports " blind football ", " parasport " and " Paralympian " popularized during the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Among the personalities included in the two dictionaries are South Korean Han Kang , 2024 Nobel Prize winner for literature, swimmer and four-time Olympic medalist Léon Marchand , and disabled cyclist and three-time Paralympic champion Alexandre Léauté.

Finally, French chef Thierry Marx and French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, imprisoned for nearly six months in Algeria, are included in the Robert dictionary. Street artist Invader, known for his mosaics on the walls of major cities, is included in the Larousse dictionary.