'Gaslighting': Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2022

Lookups for 'gaslighting' increased 1,740 per cent in 2022 over the year before.

“Gaslighting” — behavior that's mind manipulating, grossly misleading, downright deceitful — is Merriam-Webster's word of the year.

Lookups for the word on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740 per cent in 2022 over the year before. But something else happened. There wasn't a single event that drove significant spikes in curiosity, as it usually goes with the chosen word of the year.

The gaslighting was pervasive.

'Gaslighting' is our 2022 #WordOfTheYear.https://t.co/i7QlIv1DBB

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 28, 2022

“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 told The Associated Press. “It was a word looked up frequently every single day of the year."

Merriam-Webster's top definition for gaslighting is 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.”

More broadly, the dictionary defines the word as "The act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage."

Gaslighting is a heinous tool frequently used by abusers in relationships — and by politicians and other newsmakers. It can happen between romantic partners, within a broader family unit and among friends. It can be a corporate tactic, or a way to mislead the public. There's also “medical gaslighting,” when a health care professional dismisses a patient's symptoms or illness as “all in your head.”

Origin of 'gaslighting'

According to Merriam-Webster, the origins of "gaslighting" are colorful: the term comes from the title of a 1938 play and the movie based on that play, the plot of which involves a man attempting to make his wife believe that she is going insane.

His mysterious activities in the attic cause the house’s gas lights to dim, but he insists to his wife that the lights are not dimming and that she can’t trust her own perceptions.

(With inputs from AP)