# New words for anxious, algorithm-shaped life, from puregatory to lifehoarding

> Original title: From puregatory to lifehoarding – how best to describe our strange, anxious times? | Emma Beddington

- Source: The Guardian · AI
- Published: 2026-11-02T11:00:39.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/t6u1u6j8o83fh0q6wn3cqa5o4
- Original: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/nov/02/puregatory-lifehoarding-new-words-strange-anxious-times

## Summary

Trend forecasters Rohit Bhargava and Henry Coutinho-Mason coin words such as "puregatory" and "lifehoarding" in their book Future Words, due out next week. Guardian columnist Emma Beddington says the book's suggested terms describe life shaped by devices, data, algorithms and AI, and she proposes new words of her own for overpriced online purchases and guilty breaks.