Gaslighting: Merriam-Webster's Word Of The Year

Gaslighting has been added to the dictionary of Merriam-Webster following an increase in the lookups for the word by 1074% only in 2022. The reports say that the word was looked up every single day of the year.

When a word is chosen as the word of the year, it usually happens to be related to a particular event that occurred that year. In 2020 it was 'pandemic' while in 2021 it was 'vaccine'. But gaslighting seems to have come up to people across the globe as they searched for its meaning so frequently. Reports say that the word came up in the 50 top words in all of 2022 for the Merriam-Webster website.

What Is Gaslighting?

The literal definition of the word gaslighting in Merriam Webster goes, "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".

Gaslighting is a common practice in toxic relationships where one partner makes the other feel responsible for all sorts of problems that they face. It is used to manipulate them into believing that they are lesser than their partner in value and feel like an accused despite being a victim themselves. This is also used by some politicians and newsmakers to manipulate the public to cover their own flaws. Women get gaslighted in the media when they complain about their safety in public places and in return the media and sometimes politicians question the woman's morals and dress choices to judge her character instead and make them feel responsible for their own privacy breach. There is also something called 'medical gaslighting' which is restricted to a health professional not providing proper care and attention to a patient's concerns and telling them that it's all in their head.

Gaslighting Word Of The Year

Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor told Associated Press, "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," as he continued saying, "It was a word looked up frequently every single day of the year."

While speaking about the meaning of the word, Sokolowski said, "There is this implication of an intentional deception," further explained, "And once one is aware of that deception, it’s not just a straightforward lie, as in, you know, I didn’t eat the cookies in the cookie jar. It’s something that has a little bit more devious quality to it. It has possibly an idea of strategy or a long-term plan."

The top 10 words of this year also include oligarch, omicron, codify, Queen consort, raid, sentient, cancel culture, LGBTQIA and loamy.

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