One-sided relationships prompt Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year

Cambridge Dictionary has revealed ‘parasocial’ as its word of the year for 2025, defined as involving a connection someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know.

Psychologists have observed how the rise of one-sided parasocial relationships has redefined fandom and celebrity.

For instance, when pop star Taylor Swift and American footballer Travis Kelce announced their engagement earlier this year, many fans felt a strong connection to them despite most not having met them.

The parasocial relationships that people form with online influencers and artificial intelligence chatbots have also been highlighted as part of the growing trend.

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.

“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’.

“The language around parasocial phenomena is evolving fast, as technology, society and culture shift and mutate. From celebrities to chatbots, parasocial trends are fascinating for those who are interested in the development of language.”

The term parasocial dates back to 1956, when two University of Chicago sociologists observed that television viewers engaged in parasocial relationships with on-screen personalities, resembling those they formed with ‘real’ family and friends.

They noted how the rapidly expanding medium of television brought the faces of actors directly into viewers’ homes, making them fixtures in people’s lives.

Simone Schnall, professor of experimental social psychology at the University of Cambridge, said parasocial was an “inspired choice” for word of the year.

“The rise of parasocial relationships has redefined fandom, celebrity and, with AI, how ordinary people interact online,” she said.

“We’ve entered an age where many people form unhealthy and intense parasocial relationships with influencers.

“This leads to a sense that people ‘know’ those they form parasocial bonds with, can trust them and even to extreme forms of loyalty.

“Yet it’s completely one-sided.

“As trust in mainstream and traditional media breaks down, people turn to individual personalities as authorities, and – when they spend many hours consuming their content – develop parasocial bonds, treating them more like close friends, family or cult leaders.

“When an influencer has so many followers, people assume they are trustworthy.”

She continued: “There’s a more traditional and healthy manifestation of fandom as people develop parasocial ties with stars like Taylor Swift who are exceptionally good at what they do, but this can also lead to obsessive interpretations of lyrics and intense online discussions about their meanings and what they mean for fans, as well as Swift herself.

“Parasocial trends take on a new dimension as many people treat AI tools like ChatGPT as ‘friends’, offering positive affirmations, or as a proxy for therapy.

“This is an illusion of a relationship and group think, and we know young people can be susceptible for this.”

Cambridge Dictionary has added some 6,000 new words this year including “delulu”, a play on the word delusional, gibberish word “skibidi” and “tradwife”, short for traditional wife.

Other words noted as having an impact this year include “slop”, in reference to content on the internet that is of very low quality, especially when it is created by artificial intelligence.

Another is “memeify”, meaning to turn an event, image or person into a meme – an idea, joke, image or video that is spread quickly on the internet.