What Are Sheeple? Apple Users Are In New Merriam-Webster Dictionary Definition

Apple fanboys have always had a reputation for undying loyalty to the brand, but Merriam-Webster is taking that characterization to a new level by using them as an example for new dictionary entry “sheeple.”

According to the newly added word, a “sheeple” is an informal term that is used to describe "people who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced" and can be likened or compared to sheep.

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To show the word in action, Merriam-Webster included two example sentences, including one that takes a shot at the folks who prefer Apple’s computers and mobile devices over the alternatives.

“Apple's debuted a battery case for the juice-sucking iPhone—an ungainly lumpy case the sheeple will happily shell out $99 for,” the sentence reads.

A second, much more innocuous sentence was also included. “James Nichols, who ran the family farm here, stamped dollar bills with red ink in protest against currency and told his neighbors that they were ‘sheeple’ for obeying authority like livestock,” it reads.

According to Merriam-Webster’s history for the word, sheeple was first used in 1945—more than 30 years before Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple and 62 years before the company would introduce the device that would apparently help herd the sheeple.

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The case referenced in the sentence is the Smart Battery Case Apple introduced in 2015 for the iPhone 6 and 6s. The accessory was the company’s first attempt at cracking the market for battery cases, and its odd, rubbery design with a bump in the middle where the battery was located tended to stand out for all the wrong reasons.

It did, however, add an additional 18 hours of continuous internet usage or 20 hours of video streaming to the iPhone, which pretty successfully counters the “battery-sucking” tendencies the popular handset has.

And while the example sentence may suggest a blind loyalty to Apple and its products, the company likely isn’t complaining about such a reputation—especially since it pays off come quarterly earnings.

The 2017 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index conducted by Brand Keys found Apple generated the most loyal companies in many of the tech categories it offers products in, including computers, tablets, smartphones, online music and headphones via its subsidary Beats by Dre.

In addition to “sheeple,” Merriam-Webster also added the term “intersectionality,” which it defines as “the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups.”