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Gaslighting Is The Word Of The Year "Gaslighting" is Merriam-Webster's word of the year. Lookups for the word on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740% in 2022 over the year before. The site’s top definition for gaslighting is, “the 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." The rest of this list included, "Oligarch," "Omicron," "Codify," "Queen consort," "Raid," "Sentient," "Cancel culture," "LGBTQIA," and "Loamy." What was YOUR word of the year?