

"Gaslighting" has in the last few years become a ubiquitous term, particularly in the "age of misinformation," Merriam-Webster said. Gaslighting in politics, media and entertainment In the context of the film, "gaslighting" refers to the "psychological manipulation of a person over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question" their reality, according to Merriam-Webster. Partly due to the film's popularity, the noun "gaslight" became a verb, too. In both, a nefarious man attempts to trick his new wife into thinking she's losing her mind, in part by telling her that the gaslights in their home, which dim when he's in the attic doing dastardly deeds, are not fading at all.īoth the play and film were wildly popular, with a renamed version of the play running for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway, and the 1944 film earning a best picture nomination and an Oscar for Ingrid Bergman. We owe the term "gaslighting" to the 1938 play and 1944 film "Gaslight" (itself a remake of a film from 1940). The term "gaslighting" encapsulates some of the other common terms we associate with misinformation - "deepfakes" and "fake news" among them, per Merriam-Webster. Gaslighting is usually more complex than an off-the-cuff lie and more nefarious, too: Gaslighting someone into believing they're wrong is often part of a "larger plan," said Merriam-Webster.

The online dictionary chose "gaslighting," which it defines as "the act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one's own advantage," as its top word of 2022 because it has become the "favored word for the perception of deception." Merriam-Webster's word of the year - and this you can believe - is "gaslighting." “Oligarch,” driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine."Gaslighting" defined as "the act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one's own advantage" is Merriam-Webster's word of the year. Last year’s pick was “vaccine.” Rounding out this year’s Top 10 are: “Gaslighting,” Sokolowski said, spent all of 2022 in the top 50 words looked up on to earn top dog word of the year status. Some of the droves who looked up “gaslighting” this year might have wanted to know, simply, if it’s one or two words, or whether it’s hyphenated. They don’t slice and dice why people look up words, which can be anything from quick spelling and definition checks to some sort of attempt at inspiration or motivation. Sokolowski and his team weed out evergreen words most commonly looked up to gauge which word received a significant bump over the year before. Merriam-Webster, which logs 100 million pageviews a month on its site, chooses its word of the year based solely on data. It has possibly an idea of strategy or a long-term plan.” It’s something that has a little bit more devious quality to it. “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. “There is this implication of an intentional deception,” Sokolowski said.

The term gaslighting was later used by mental health practitioners to clinically describe a form of prolonged coercive control in abusive relationships.

She played Nancy Oliver, a young maid hired by Gregory and told not to bother his “high-strung” wife. The death of Angela Lansbury in October drove some interest in lookups of the word, Sokolowski said. Among other instances, he insists her complaints over the constant dimming of their London townhouse’s gaslights is a figment of her troubled mind. The two marry after a whirlwind romance and Gregory turns out to be a champion gaslighter. One, George Cukor’s “Gaslight” in 1944, starred Ingrid Bergman as Paula Alquist and Charles Boyer as Gregory Anton. It birthed two film adaptations in the 1940s.
#Gaslight 2022 professional#
There’s also “medical gaslighting,” when a health care professional dismisses a patient’s symptoms or illness as “all in your head.”ĭespite its relatively recent prominence - including “Gaslighter,” The Chicks’ 2020 album featuring the rousingly angry titular single - the word was brought to life more than 80 years ago with “Gas Light,” a 1938 play by Patrick Hamilton. It can be a corporate tactic, or a way to mislead the public. It can happen between romantic partners, within a broader family unit and among friends. Gaslighting is a heinous tool frequently used by abusers in relationships - and by politicians and other newsmakers.
