What is the meaning of gaslighting? Origin explained as Merriam-Webster announces word of the year for 2022

Gaslighting has been deemed the word of the year by Merriam-Webster. The word was first introduced in 1938 in a play by Patrick Hamilton, titled Gas Light. In 2022, the website for Merriam-Webster observed a 1740% surge in searches for the said word. Simply put, gaslighting means mentally exploiting someone into making them doubt their own sanity. According to Merriam-Webster's definition of the word, gaslighting is:&quot;Psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.&quot;The Philippine Star@PhilippineStar“Gaslighting” — mind manipulating, grossly misleading, downright deceitful — is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year. | via @AP185333310“Gaslighting” — mind manipulating, grossly misleading, downright deceitful — is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year. | via @AP https://t.co/RrZ7QB5sUqWhere did the word &quot;gaslighting&quot; come from? Origins and modern usage exploredAs per Merriam-Webster, the word of the year for 2022 was first used in a 1938 play called Gas Light, and its subsequent film adaptation released in 1944.The play, set in the Victorian era in the 1880s, was a psychological thriller featuring a man named Mr. Manningham, who manipulated Bella – his new wife – into believing she was losing her sanity. However, this was a coverup for the mysterious activities he used to conduct in their attic at night.Jane of the North@JaneotNMerriam-Webster's word of the year is gaslighting, from the 1944 movie, &quot;Gaslight.&quot; Fabulous bit of trivia: Boyer was the same height as Bergman. To make him appear taller, he wore 2&quot; heels, or stood on a box. She kept knocking over the box. Accidentally. 17229Merriam-Webster's word of the year is gaslighting, from the 1944 movie, &quot;Gaslight.&quot; Fabulous bit of trivia: Boyer was the same height as Bergman. To make him appear taller, he wore 2&quot; heels, or stood on a box. She kept knocking over the box. Accidentally. 😉 https://t.co/HynSDpq6HmWhen Bella told her husband about hearing noises from the attic and the dimming and flickering of the gas lights (a result of the activities in the attic) in their house, the man dismissed her. He made her believe she was only imagining all of it, making her question her perceptions and sanity.Therefore, toxic masculinity was well-defined in the play through the act of psychological manipulation. As said by Melissa Spino on Merriam-Webster:“Gaslighting can be a very effective tool for the abuser to control an individual. It's done slowly so the victim writes off the event as a one off or oddity and doesn't realize they are being controlled and manipulated.”How the word is used in the modern contextWeSpoke@WeSpokeOrgGaslighting is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year 2022When gaslit, you’re told your reality is not real. You’re forcefed someone else’s narrative. It strips your autonomy and you question your thoughts, your memory, your sanity. #Gaslighting #narcissisticabuse #FamilyCourt137Gaslighting is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year 2022When gaslit, you’re told your reality is not real. You’re forcefed someone else’s narrative. It strips your autonomy and you question your thoughts, your memory, your sanity. #Gaslighting #narcissisticabuse #FamilyCourt https://t.co/xP4AKDeNTIThe official website of Merriam-Webster states that the term &quot;gaslighting&quot; was first used in the 20th century and became associated with the kind of deceit that was portrayed in the eponymous 1938 play. In recent years, the word has become quite ubiquitous. It is associated with modern forms of deepfakes, deception, and misinformation.2022 began with Gen Z’s sarcastic take on the ‘live, love, laugh’ mantra of Millennials, as they mocked it with &quot;gaslight, gatekeep, girl boss.&quot; It was a response to a wave of fake-motivational feminists, fake news, and millennials allegedly limiting access to everything made before their time.Tony Bravo@TonyBravoSF“Gaslighting” being Merriam-Webster’s 2022 word of the year is both a horrifying sign of the state of the world and a lovely tribute to the late Angela Lansbury (Oscar-nominated for her performance in the 1944 film “Gaslight.”) #TCMParty81“Gaslighting” being Merriam-Webster’s 2022 word of the year is both a horrifying sign of the state of the world and a lovely tribute to the late Angela Lansbury (Oscar-nominated for her performance in the 1944 film “Gaslight.”) #TCMParty https://t.co/8jDjtOOfRbPeter Sokolowski, an editor at Merriam-Webster, said in an exclusive interview,“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. It was a word looked up frequently every single day of the year.”&quot;Gaslighting&quot; has now found a place in Clinical Psychology as well, where it is used to describe emotional manipulation. It mostly happens in cases of abusive relationships.Ambarish Vemuri@ambarishvemuriWORD OF THE YEAR- GASLIGHTING (Merriam Webster) Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation that hinges on creating self-doubt. An act or strategy of making someone seem or feel unstable or irrational, that they’re making it up, that no one else will believe them.2WORD OF THE YEAR- GASLIGHTING (Merriam Webster) Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation that hinges on creating self-doubt. An act or strategy of making someone seem or feel unstable or irrational, that they’re making it up, that no one else will believe them. https://t.co/sioqi5PY4TApart from its obvious usage in relationships and interpersonal dynamics, the word also finds a place in several other sectors of our lives, key among them being politics and medicine. With regard to gaslighting in politics, Vernita Perkins and Leonard A. Jason said:“Election season can create emotions spanning from immense anxiety all the way to extreme apathy. The public arguing, divisiveness, and competition for votes, including political gaslighting, can be overwhelming and exhausting.”The New York Times also wrote about doctors medically gaslighting patients. This refers to women as well as people of color being discriminated against by physicians who dismiss them without paying the required attention to their symptoms and instead convince them into believing it is nothing serious. These patients are neither thoroughly informed nor made aware of the severity of their issues.

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