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English Word of the Year 2022 is 'Gaslighting'
a year agoDictionary website Merriam Webster have published news of their word of the year, and it's a horrible one.
'Gaslighting' is defined as “the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for one’s own advantage.” It is commonly associated with abusive personal relationships and dates back to the 1938 play and movie 'Gaslight'. However, according to Merriam Webster, it has become much more popular this year, with a 1740% increase in searches during 2022.
The increase in use of the word 'gaslighting' can't be linked to one particular world event, unlike 2021's 'vaccine' (for Covid-19), and 2020's 'pandemic' (of Covid-19).
Merriam Webster also list oligarch, omicron, codify, LGBTQIA, sentient, loamy, raid, and queen consort as generating many clicks for them this year.
