gaslight

1 of 2

noun

gas·​light ˈgas-ˌlīt How to pronounce gaslight (audio)
-ˈlīt
1
: light made by burning illuminating gas
2
a
: a gas flame
b
: a gas lighting fixture

gaslight

2 of 2

verb

gaslighted or gaslit; gaslighting; gaslights

transitive verb

1
: to psychologically manipulate (a person) usually over an extended period of time so that the victim questions the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and experiences confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, and doubts concerning their own emotional or mental stability : to subject (someone) to gaslighting
You might think someone who is gaslighting you would only lie about big things that they could cover up or hide. But that's not the case. They often lie about all things big and small just to throw you off.Amy Morin
But sexual abuse claims against the powerful stall more easily. There were experts willing to attack my credibility. There were doctors willing to gaslight an abused child.Dylan Farrow
Taylor-Dior Rumble is a writer and actor, and she has direct experience with being racially gaslit. … 'While we often look at gaslighting as something that's done between two people in an intimate relationship, it's no different to how this country responds to Black and brown people, whenever we're tasked with "proving" that racism still exists in Britain.'Natalie Morris
2
: to grossly mislead or deceive (someone) especially for one's own advantage
Conservative groups are slamming President Biden and his administration for attempting to "gaslight" Americans into believing that the country isn't in a recession.Jack Durschlag
Former White House press secretary and communications director Sean Spicer has been accused of "gaslighting Americans" and including multiple inaccuracies in his new memoir …Diana Stancy Correll

Did you know?

The Origin and Semantic Development of Gaslighting

The origins of gaslighting are colorful: the term comes from the title of a 1938 play and the movies based on that play, the plots of which involve a man attempting to make his wife believe that she is going insane. His mysterious activities in the attic cause the house’s gas lights to dim, but he insists to his wife that the lights are not dimming and that she can’t trust her own perceptions.

When gaslighting was first used in the mid-20th century, it referred to a kind of deception like that in the plots mentioned above (sense 1). In the current century, the word has come to refer also to something simpler and broader: “the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for a personal advantage” (sense 2).

In this use, the word is at home with other terms relating to modern forms of deception and manipulation, such as fake news and deepfake.

The idea of a deliberate conspiracy to mislead has made gaslighting useful in describing lies that are part of a larger plan. Unlike lying, which tends to be between individuals, and fraud, which tends to involve organizations, gaslighting applies in both personal and political contexts, and is found in formal and technical writing as well as in colloquial use.

Its increasing use in many contexts contributed to making gaslighting Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2022.

Examples of gaslight in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Buildings, trees, gaslights, fences and church steeples were covered by snow. Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2024 But these images are also stagy and contrived, as if his birds are players on a stage, dramatically illuminated in the glow of gaslight. Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 29 Apr. 2023 Davis captures the exterior scenes (shot on Inishmore, in the Aran Islands) in somber natural light, with candles and gaslight for the interiors, as befits an area where electricity would not have arrived until the 1970s. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Sep. 2022 So Dickens says, on this day when the sun seems to have died, and the haggard glow of gaslight can barely brighten the mist. Michael Gorra, The New York Review of Books, 6 Apr. 2022 In discussing these books, Wolff explores the profound impact of gaslight and the development of projection technologies on opera. Larry Wolff, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 The series includes Sloan’s famous etching of a woman kneeling in her nightgown while turning down a gaslight before joining her lover amid the rumpled sheets of their bed. Steven Litt, cleveland, 29 Aug. 2021 Its rooftop cupola was reproduced as a reminder of the gaslight era. Jacques Kelly, baltimoresun.com, 15 May 2021 In George Smith’s time, the museum lacked not only electrical light, but gaslight as well. Joan Acocella, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2019
Verb
Some also use the term to post about partners who lie, bully, or gaslight them. Beth Sobol, Women's Health, 25 June 2023 Then, Schwartz tries to gaslight her for violating their agreement and pushes back. Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2023 Please don’t gaslight yourself. Virgie Tovar, refinery29.com, 3 Aug. 2022 Now, Brendan tries to gaslight Natasha. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 7 Sep. 2021 So now you guys want to gaslight me. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 11 July 2022 The other brother tends to gaslight me. Amy Dickinson, oregonlive, 31 Mar. 2022 To have the conversation and not to gaslight me. Justin Phillips, SFChronicle.com, 6 July 2020 Like someone with narcissistic personality disorder, MCAS gaslights the pilots. IEEE Spectrum, 18 Apr. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gaslight.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

after Gas Light, a play (1938) by British writer Patrick Hamilton, subsequently made into British and American films entitled Gaslight (1940 and 1944), in which a man attempts to trick his wife into believing that she is going insane

First Known Use

Noun

1808, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1953, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of gaslight was in 1808

Dictionary Entries Near gaslight

Cite this Entry

“Gaslight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaslight. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

gaslight

noun
gas·​light ˈgas-ˌlīt How to pronounce gaslight (audio)
-ˈlīt
1
: light made by burning gas
2
a
: a gas flame
b
: a gas lighting fixture
gaslighting
-iŋ
noun
gaslit
-ˌlit
-ˈlit
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on gaslight

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