What does “gaslighting” mean?
Gaslighting is manipulating someone into doubting their own memory or sense of what is real.
Where it comes from
From Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play Gas Light and the 1944 film Gaslight, in which a husband dims the lights and tells his wife she is imagining it. Merriam-Webster chose it as Word of the Year for 2022.
Gaslighting in a sentence
- Telling me I never said that, when it’s in writing, is gaslighting.
- Therapists use the word with care.
Can you say it at work?
It’s a serious word. Use it for real manipulation, not for an ordinary disagreement.
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