The word’s current meaning comes from the title of a 1938 play.
There were a batch of interesting contenders forMerriam - Webster ’s 2022 Word of the Year , let in " Sentient " and " Loamy . " But the pick this year experience all too meet for a sentence when a man who salute caffeine - free Diet Coke owns one of thelargest social media weapons platform in the worldand insists he ’s a genius . And no , the word is n’t " Oligarch , " though that was also a finalist .
For 2022,“Gaslighting"has been name the twelvemonth ’s word . According toMerriam - Webster , there was a 1740 % increase in the search for the definition of the Logos . Merriam - Webster defines Gaslighting as : " The act or exercise of grossly misleading someone particularly for one ’s own advantage . "
Sound familiar ? On the interpersonal degree , gaslighting is unwashed in abusive relationship — the word ’s current meaning come up from the championship of a 1938 dramatic play about a human race who try on to make his wife believe that his wife is going insane . In this use of goods and services , Merriam - Webster defines gaslighting as " psychological manipulation of a person normally over an lengthened menses of clock time that causes the dupe to question the cogency of their own thoughts , perception of reality , or memories and typically leads to confusedness , loss of confidence and ego - respect , doubtfulness of one ’s emotional or genial stability , and a dependance on the culprit . "
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The more shortened translation of the definition is broader to let in its uses in the circumstance of simulated news , misinformation , artificial intelligence , and abstruse impostor . In this way , gaslighting is considered in both thepolitical and personal contexts , accord to Merriam - Webster .
" In recent years , with the vast gain in channels and technologies used to mislead , gaslighting has become the favored Scripture for the perception of deception , " Merriam - Webster partake in in a statement . " This is why ( trust us ! ) it has clear its place as our Word of the Year . "
