Gaslighting was chosen as the word of the year by the Merriam-Webster dictionary this year. Last year's word was vaccine.
Merriam-Webster selects the word of the year based on online searches, after eliminating evergreen words that are frequently searched each year.
In 2022, the word gas flaring was searched for 1,740 percent more often than a year earlier, but – in contrast to the words of previous years – this interest cannot be linked to a certain triggering event.
"I've been very surprised at how quickly interest in the word has grown in the English language, especially in the last four years," said Peter Sokolowski, editor-in-chief of Merriam-Webster. "We're talking about a word that is searched for every single day of the year," he added.
According to Merriam-Webster's definition, gas flaming is the persistent psychological manipulation of a person. As a result of gaslighting, the victim questions the validity of their own thoughts, memories, or perception of reality, leading to confusion, loss of self-confidence and self-esteem, and uncertainty about emotional and mental stability, while the victim becomes dependent on the perpetrator.
The use of gas flaring also occurs in close human relationships, in economic and political life, and in news production.
It can be a corporate tactic or a tool to mislead the public. One of its special versions is medical gas flaring, during which a medical professional shakes the patient down by only talking about the symptoms or the disease. The origin of the word gas flaming goes back to Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play Gázláng. There were two film adaptations of the play in the 1940s. One of them is George Cukor's 1944 work, Gas Flame, in which Paula Alquist is played by Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Anton is played by Charles Boyer. The two main characters get together after a stormy romance, but Gregory is not who he seems. One of the key moments of the film is that Paula regularly complains to her husband about the fact that the gas flames that provide light in their London house often go out. Gregory sets this up as if it all existed only in the woman's imagination.
The word gas flaming was later adopted by the mental health professions to describe a certain type of relationship abuse.
Among the ten most searched words this year are oligarch, omicron, raid and cancel culture.
Source: MH / MTI
Photo: Joanne K. Watson/Merriam-Webster Via Getty Image
