Every year about this time, various dictionaries come up with a \u201cWord of the Year.\u201d Sometimes it\u2019s a completely new word, sometimes it\u2019s a word made up of a combination of other words, sometimes it\u2019s just a new use of an existing word, sometimes it\u2019s more than one word, and sometimes its isn\u2019t a word at all \u2014 think emoji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I checked a few days ago and the Oxford Dictionary hadn\u2019t yet chosen their Word of the Year for 2022. They had it narrowed down to three choices: metaverse, #IStandWith, and Goblin mode. So we\u2019ll stand by anxiously awaiting Oxford\u2019s choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Merriam-Webster has chosen it\u2019s Word of the year. Their choice for 2022 is gaslighting<\/em>. I looked up gaslighting in an old hard-copy dictionary (we really do still have one) and the definition read as follows: manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity. The origin of the term gaslighting was apparently from the title of a 1938 play, and the movie based on that play. The plot involves a man attempting to make his wife believe that she is going insane. His mysterious activities in the attic cause the house\u2019s gas lights to dim, but he insists to his wife that the lights are not dimming and that she can\u2019t trust her own perceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent years, the term gaslighting has changed a little, into something simpler and broader \u2014 \u201cthe act of grossly misleading someone, especially for a personal advantage.\u201d So in today\u2019s world, the word falls into the same category as deception and manipulation, like fake news. I think now would be a good time to register my<\/em> vote for Word of the Year\u2026. it\u2019s a term and practice that is particularly disturbing to me. My choice \u2014 deepfake<\/em>. Deepfake is an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said. This is especially dangerous, because it offers visual and\/or sound (incorrect) evidence to support a conspiracy, etc. Lots and lots of people already believe what they read without checking \u2014 probably even more people will believe what they see and hear. Just my thought\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyhow, Merriam-Webster points out that the English language has lots of ways to say \u201clie\u201d \u2014 words like falsehood and untruth, deceitfulness, prevarication, dissemble and fib. During the Cold War, disinformation became popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, with the enormous increase in communication channels and technologies that can be used to mislead, gaslighting has become the favored word for the perception of deception \u2014 so gaslighting it is \u2014 the Word of the Year. Every year about this time, various dictionaries come up with a \u201cWord of the Year.\u201d Sometimes it\u2019s a completely new word, sometimes it\u2019s a word made up of a combination of other words, sometimes it\u2019s just a new use of … Continue reading
I guess today, in this age of misinformation, fake news, conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls, etc, gaslighting is an appropriate choice for Word of the Year.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially in the political world, the idea of a deliberate conspiracy to mislead has made gaslighting useful in describing lies that are part of a larger plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 30 \u2014
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