On June 9, 2025, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) announced the three winning neologisms of the sixth edition of the Lexical Creativity Contest. This competition, which took place from November 25, 2024, to February 28, 2025, invited secondary school students to propose new words to enrich the French language.
Among the 726 proposals received, the jury selected:
Évitango: Proposed by students from the Eulalie-Durocher secondary school in Montreal, this term designates a series of lateral movements performed by two pedestrians who cross paths in a confined space and attempt to go around each other simultaneously, creating an involuntary choreography.
Faurevoir: Suggested by students from the Riverside regional secondary school in Saguenay, this word describes a situation where two people about to part greet each other, but their meeting unexpectedly extends.
Célébloui: Proposed by students from 11 schools across Quebec, this term qualifies a person who, due to an encounter with a celebrity, is struck by such a strong impression that they lose their composure.
These neologisms have been integrated into the OQLF's Vitrine linguistique, making these new words accessible to millions of people around the world.
The ambassador of the contest, Pierre-Yves Lord, had the opportunity to exchange with the young creators of these words during video capsules, illustrating the importance of human creativity in the enrichment of the French language.
This competition is part of the Quebec government's Youth Action Plan 2025-2030, aimed at encouraging young people to actively participate in the linguistic and cultural life of the province.
To learn more about the Lexical Creativity Contest and discover other neologisms created by young Quebecers, you can consult the official OQLF website.