This year, Merriam-Webster has announced ‘Gaslighting’ as the word of the year.
In recent years, with the vast increase in channels and technologies used to mislead, through advice or content, gaslighting has become the favored word for the perception of deception. To a point that it has been used in other manipulative ways, making it even worse.
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.”
In 2022, the search for the word increased by 1740% with many people interested in the meaning.
Other popular words are ‘Omicron’, ‘Codify’, ‘LGBTQIA, ‘Raid’, & more.