Merriam-Webster's Word Of 2022 Is 'Gaslighting' & You Already Know These Top Terms, Right?

What does gaslighting mean?

According to The Merriam-Webster dictionary, gaslighting is "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."

More simply put, it's "the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for one's own advantage."

Where did the term "gaslight" come from?

The term originated from the title of a 1938 play by Patrick Hamilton about a man who tried to convince his wife that she was going insane.

The husband was making the gas lights dim with his "mysterious activity," but when his wife questioned the cause of the dimming gas lights, he convinced her that she had just imagined it.

Thus the term "gaslight" was born.

What does "oligarch" mean?

While "gaslighting" is the official Word of the Year, there were a few other words that came close, including "oligarch."

The term saw a 621% spike in searches in March 2022 because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an oligarchy means "rule by the few" or "a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes."

An oligarch is someone who is part of or supports an oligarchy and directly benefits from it.

In the 2022 context, Russian oligarchs are the wealthy people who have supported Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Western countries punished Russia's invasion of Ukraine by seizing these oligarchs' assets around the world.

What does "Omicron" mean?

Omicron has become the dominant variant of COVID-19 around the world, so it's no surprise that people would be searching it more in 2022 than in any other year.

The World Health Organization has taken to using Greek letters to name the different variants of COVID-19 and Omicron is the 15th letter in that alphabet.

What does "codify" mean?

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24 prompted many people to rush to the internet and find out what "codify" means, increasing its search by 193%, according to Merriam-Webster.

"Codify" refers to the process of making something a law, according to the dictionary.

"The word literally means 'to make a code' with code here essentially a synonym of 'law.'"

What does "LGBTQIA" mean?

Merriam-Webster says it saw a 1,178% spike in searches for the acronym "LGBTQIA" in June.

The term stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (one's sexual or gender identity), intersex, and asexual/aromantic/agender."

June is also Pride Month, which could explain the spike.

What does "sentient" mean?

According to the dictionary, sentient means to have a "responsive to or conscious of sense impressions."

There was a 480% increase in searches for the term in June, after a Google engineer claimed that his chat bot had become sentient.

What does "loamy" mean?

Loam is "a mixture (as for plastering) composed chiefly of moistened clay," as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Searches for "loamy" spiked on August 29 because it was the answer to the New York Times' Wordle puzzle that day, the dictionary says.

What does "raid" mean?

Searches for the word raid, which means "a sudden invasion by officers of the law," went up by 1,000% around the time the FBI issued a search warrant for the Mar-a-Lago property of former president Donald Trump. Trump described it as a "raid" at the time.

What does "queen consort" mean?

Arguably, the most significant pop-culture moment of 2022 was the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch.

Her death opened the door for her son to become King Charles III. It also made room for his wife, Camilla, to take on a new title: queen consort.

This sent people rushing to search for the meaning of "queen consort," which basically is the correct title for the king's wife. A queen consort has no official powers of her own, unlike a queen.