If you feel like Chappel Roan is your friend, are personally affected by Taylor Swift’s life, or that you need to defend every action of Lily Allen, congratulations, your behaviour is ‘parasocial’ — which is also the Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year 2025, as named by the Cambridge Dictionary.
In a press release announcing the word for this year, lexicographers from Cambridge stated that they chose it in a year marked by interest in one-sided parasocial relationships between people and celebrities and influencers.
Parasocial is an expression that means "involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know".
Why was this word chosen?
The lexicographers from Cambridge cited Taylor Swift’s engagement with NFL (National Football League) star Travis Kelce arousing a deep confession with the pair among fans, and Lily Allen’s break-up album ‘West End Girl’ sparking interest in her love life, and the discourse surrounding the two incidents, as prime reasons why they chose the word
The concept originated in 1956, when two sociologists at the University of Chicago observed television viewers creating parasocial relationships with television celebrities, whom they regarded as close friends or family.
On the designation of ‘parasocial’ as the word of the year, Colin McIntosh of the Cambridge Dictionary said, “Parasocial captures the 2025 zeitgeist. It's a great example of how language changes. What was once a specialist academic term has become mainstream.”
McIntosh added, “Millions of people are engaged in parasocial relationships; many more are simply intrigued by their rise. The data reflects that, with the Cambridge Dictionary website seeing spikes in lookups for ‘parasocial’.
Cambridge also spoke of an observed trend of people treating ChatGPT as a confidante, friend or even romantic partner, leading them to develop ‘concerning’ bonds with the AI tool, as a reason.
"Skibidi," "delulu," and "tradwife" were among the new entries in the Cambridge Dictionary.
The three were among the "6,212 new words, phrases, and meanings" added to the online dictionary in the last year, according to the website.
