New Terms Entered the Legal Lexicon in 2025

Frank Young | Posted on December 26, 2025
Partial book cover of “Burton’s Legal Thesaurus, 6th Edition.” The design features a deep blue and black abstract background with curved gradients. At the top, text reads “Over 30 Percent New Words Added.” The title “Burton’s Legal Thesaurus” appears in large serif lettering at the center, with a note above it stating “6th Edition.” Beneath the title is a subtitle describing it as the first and only reference book of its kind in the history of law, with a foreword by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. Additional text notes the book’s 40th year in publication. At the bottom is the author’s name, William C. Burton, along with the LexisNexis logo.
Partial cover image of “Burton’s Legal Thesaurus, 6th Edition” by William C. Burton. Published by LexisNexis. Used for informational and scholarly purposes.

According to a recent ABA Journal article, "vampire law" and "vibe coding" are among the top 2025 legal words.[1] A Select Committee on Terminology from Burton's Legal Thesaurus updates the legal lexicon every year. Here are some of the new terms (with definitions) that have been introduced.

• “Algorithmic wage discrimination” refers to the practice of paying individual workers—especially gig workers—different hourly wages for similar work. These varying wages are determined using digital data related to worker location, behavior, and other factors.

• "AI personhood" refers to the concept of granting legal rights or status to advanced AI systems.

• “Cog war,” short for cognitive warfare, involves using false or misleading information to manipulate a foreign adversary.

• “Dark patterns” are misleading online designs that manipulate consumers into making specific choices.

• "Day One rights" require employers to inform employees about their rights and benefits, such as sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal, on their first day of work. Additionally, this legislation mandates that more employee rights take effect on their first day.

• "Vampire law" is a fictional concept used in various urban fantasy and horror stories to describe a code of conduct or set of rules that vampires must follow within their society or in their interactions with humans. It exists in two contexts: as a metaphorical term used in academic writing and legal commentary, and as a fictional concept debated in pop culture and online forums.

• "Vibe coding" is a modern software development approach where you use natural language prompts to tell an AI what you want, and the AI generates the functional code, shifting focus from writing lines of code to guiding the AI and managing the overall "vibe" or goal of the application, allowing for faster, more accessible app creation.

Burton's Legal Thesaurus (6th ed. 2021) is available via Lexis.

[1] Amanda Robert, 'Vampire law' and 'vibe coding' among top 2025 legal words, ABA Journal (Dec. 3, 2025).

Modified on December 30, 2025
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