What headline? 'Gaslighting' Merriam-Webster's word of 2022
Merriam-Webster has chosen “gaslighting” as its word of the year for 2022
By LEANNE ITALIE
Published - Nov 28, 2022, 12:06 AM ET
Last Updated - Jun 23, 2023, 10:58 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — “Gaslighting” — 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% in 2022 over the year before. But something else happened. There wasn't a single event that drove significant spikes in the curiosity, as it usually goes with the chosen word of the year.
The gaslighting was pervasive.
“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, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press ahead of Monday's unveiling.
