U.S. publisher Merrian-Webster, specializing in dictionaries, has selected “gaslighting” as word of the year.. In its literal meaning, this term refers to “making gaslighting [a alguien]” and is understood as the action of exerting psychological abuse on another person by manipulating his or her perception of reality.
The origin of the term “gaslighting” is theatrical and was popularized by the cinema in 1944 with the film titled in Spain “Luz que agoniza.”
The online interest in this term has been decisive for the decision that this is the word of the year, since throughout 2022 the percentage of searches on it increased by 1,740 %. The definition in the Merrian-Webster dictionary explains that it is the psychological manipulation of a person for a prolonged period of time to the point where the victim comes to questioning the validity of his own perception of reality, his memories or his thoughts.. The usual effects are confusion, loss of confidence and increased lack of self-esteem.
In addition, in recent times it has been added the action of deceiving someone with the intention of benefiting personally, which would be related to manipulation and fake news, false news or hoaxes. In fact, the dictionary adds that “gaslighting” can refer to lies that are part of a larger scale plan with more ambitious goals than the lies might appear to be.
The first appearance of the term was in. the play “Gaslight” (“Dying Light”). written by Patrick Hamiltony that would be taken to the cinema with the same title in the film released in 1944 in which George Cukor directed Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman and the recently deceased Angela Lansbury, who debuted precisely in this film.
The plot revolves around a newlyweds who go to live in the home of a recently deceased aunt. After a short time the wife begins to hear strange noises at night that terrify her coming from the attic, but her husband torments her into believing she is going mad..
