With January quickly approaching, dictionaries from around the world have begun to release their word of the year. These words typically encapsulate the experiences, changes, or challenges that people faced during those 12 months.
Last year, most dictionaries had words that revolved around the pandemic and vaccination, reflecting the worries many had over the COVID-19 virus. Much of the world has since then made efforts to move towards a return to normality, however.
As for Merriam-Webster, they announced on November 28 that they have chosen gaslighting as their 2022 Word of the Year.
Typically, specific events cause spikes in word searches throughout the year, such as vaccine during 2021 and #FreeBritney earlier in 2022 in reference to the war in Ukraine. In contrast, gaslighting was consistently searched throughout the year, with no particular moment sparking interest. In total, the word saw a 1,740% increase in searches throughout the year.
“It’s a word that has risen so quickly in the English language, and especially in the last four years, that it actually came as a surprise to me and to many of us,” said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large.
It is a relatively new word, originating in a 1938 play in which a husband manipulated his wife into believing she had faulty judgment.
Gaslighting has originally referred to the “psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.”
Recently, however, it has been more broadly defined as “the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for one’s own advantage.” Under this definition, it has similar uses to other words like deepfakes and fake news, which have also seen increased interest in the last few years.
Previously, gaslighting referred to romantic partners, family, or friends. Now, people are also using it when talking about deceitful politicians, manipulative companies, and even medical professionals who downplay the severity of symptoms.
As Merriam-Webster puts it, “gaslighting has become the favored word for the perception of deception.”
