"Gaslighting" has been named word of the year for 2022 by Merriam-Webster. The word was selected by the dictionary after analysis showed searches for the word on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740% in 2022.
Searches for the word, which refers to a form of psychological coercion, were pervasive all year long, according to Merriam-Webster editor-at-large Peter Sokolowski. Typically there is a single event that triggers searches for what turns out to be the word of the year, but that was not the case this time.
“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,” Mr Sokolowski said. “It was a word looked up frequently every single day of the year."
