The linguist named “dopamine”, “vibe coding” and “hyperfix” contenders for the title of “Words of the year – 2026”

Candidate of Philological Sciences, Professor of the RSUPU named after A. I. Herzen Natalia Kozlovskaya shared her predictions about which words can receive the title "Word of the Year - 2026" in Russia. Among the non-obvious contenders, she called the adjective “dopamine.”.

According to the expert, this word has significantly expanded its lexical meaning and has long gone beyond biochemistry. Now “dopamine” describes not only what is associated with dopamine, but also characterizes objects with bright colors that can lift the mood by stimulating the production of this neurotransmitter, as well as a combination of saturated shades with an unusual design.

The linguist noticed that the adjective began to be used in new phrases: dopamine things, dopamine wardrobe, dopamine furniture, dopamine fashion. So today they talk about bright and rich colors, about fantasy in clothes and design of space. For the first time this value manifested itself around 2017, and by 2026 it became especially popular and relevant.

Natalia Kozlovskaya reminded that the criteria for choosing the word of the year can be different: frequency, relevance, novelty, word-forming activity and a number of others. In December, a large conference “Neolex” is traditionally held in St. Petersburg, where participants sum up “neological results of the year”. It discusses which words entered the language, which have been updated and become more frequent, as well as the meanings of which words Internet users most often asked search queries.

In addition to dopamine, the professor tentatively named several more candidates. According to her, traditionally strong positions retain words from the field of digital technologies. Judging by the dynamics of Yandex.Vordstat, the status of the word of the year - 2026 can claim "wibe coding" - a programming method in which the developer formulates tasks in a natural language, and the code generates artificial intelligence.

Also in the list of candidates, she cautiously added “hyperfix” – a colloquial truncation of the psychological term “hyperfixation”, denoting a state of obsessive enthusiasm. The service "Vordstat" recorded an increase in requests for this word in January and July 2026.