The word "gaslighting" is Merriam-Word Webster's of the Year.

"Gaslighting" has been selected by Merriam-Webster as the word of the year for 2022. On Merriam-Webster.com, searches for the word rose 1,740% in 2022 compared to the previous year.

Editor-in-chief of Merriam-Webster Before today's revelation, Peter Sokolowski privately disclosed to AP that searches for "gaslighting" were common throughout the year. Usually, a single event triggers searches, but this year, no specific incident was responsible for any appreciable increases in interest in the phrase. Its rapid emergence in the English language, particularly in the previous four years, "really surprised me and a lot of us," Mr. Sokolowski said. It was a word that was commonly searched for every day of the year .. he said.

In relationships, abusers frequently resort to a type of psychological coercion known as "gaslighting." The mental manipulation of an individual, generally over a lengthy period of time, that "causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, interpretation of reality, or remembrances and typically results in confusion, loss of trust and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's physical or mental stability, and a heavy reliance on the perpetrator" is what Merriam-Webster defines as "psychological abuse." According to Mr. Sokolowski, "there is this connotation of an intentional falsehood."

" "And then once one realises that deceit, it's not simply a simple lie, like, 'I didn't eat the cookies in the cookie jar,'" she continued. It's something with a slightly more cunning quality. The phrase first came to life and over 80 years ago in Patrick Hamilton's 1938 drama "Gas Light." In the 1940s, it gave birth to two cinematic adaptations. Ingrid Bergman played Paula Alquist in George Cukor's 1944 film Gaslight, whereas Charles Boyer played Gregory Anton. After a brief courtship, the two get married, and Gregory proves to be a master "gaslighter." He maintains, among several other things, that her complaints about the gaslights in their London townhouse consistently dimming are just a fabrication of her disturbed mind. Not at all.