Selected by Most Searched Words and Views in Online Dictionaries
CNN: Term Expanded to Meanings Favoring Deception Recognition
Merriam-Webster Selected in 2020 Pandemic and 2021 Vaccine
American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster has selected "gaslighting" as the word of the year. Photo by AP·Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Sung-wook] The American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster has selected "gaslighting" as the Word of the Year. This publisher chooses the Word of the Year annually by considering the most searched words on its online dictionary, page views, and statistical data. In 2020, "pandemic" and in 2021, "vaccine" were selected as the Words of the Year.
According to CNN and others on the 28th (local time), interest in gaslighting surged this year, with searches for the word on Merriam-Webster.com increasing by 1740% compared to last year. Merriam-Webster defines gaslighting as "a prolonged psychological manipulation of a person," causing "the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memory, leading to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, emotional or mental instability, and dependence on the perpetrator."
Gaslighting originally comes from the theater. The 1938 play Gas Light tells the story of a husband who falsely claims that "the gas lights did not flicker," driving his wife to be labeled as mentally ill. Today, the term is widely used to mean psychological manipulation and control by others, including cunning lies and deceptive acts. Peter Sokolowski, editor at Merriam-Webster, said, "Gaslighting is a word whose search volume has risen too quickly over the past four years, which actually surprised me and many others," adding, "It was a word frequently searched every day throughout the year."
CNN analyzed that the reason gaslighting was chosen as the Word of the Year is because the term's meaning has expanded to better recognize "deception." Gaslighting can be an impromptu lie or often more complex, malicious, and part of a "big plan." According to Merriam-Webster, the word encapsulates terms related to "misinformation," such as "deepfake" and "fake news."
Merriam-Webster notes that after going through the "age of misinformation" in recent years, gaslighting has become a ubiquitous term. Especially in 2017, when President Trump denied having made public statements, major media outlets like CNN referred to this as "Trump gaslighting us," using the term as a verb.
Gaslighting is also frequently used in contexts of domestic violence and romantic relationships. The U.S. domestic violence hotline defines the term as "a very effective form of emotional abuse." Additionally, The New York Times covered "medical gaslighting," where healthcare professionals downplay the severity of patients' symptoms as "all in their head."
Regarding the expansion of gaslighting's meaning, editor Peter Sokolowski said, "There are subtle changes from the original meaning, but that is how language naturally evolves," adding, "When the public uses a word in that way, it gains new vitality."
In South Korea, gaslighting gained significant attention this year as a new type of crime in the "Valley Murder Case." The prosecution argued that Lee Eun-hae, who was tried for causing her husband's death by pushing him into a valley, committed intentional murder through gaslighting (direct murder). Although the court did not accept the prosecution's claim, some have called for the legalization of gaslighting as a criminal offense.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
