gaslighting

3 synonyms for gaslighting, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — Manipulating someone into doubting their own memory, perception or sanity, usually by repeatedly denying things they know to be true.

Synonyms

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

manipulation

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

psychological abuse mind games

How to use gaslighting

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

gaslighting someone accused of gaslighting classic gaslighting

Now general English, though it began as a clinical and then a political term. Overuse for ordinary disagreement is a common complaint.

Etymology

From the 1938 stage play "Gas Light" by Patrick Hamilton, and its film adaptations, in which a husband dims the gas lamps and insists his wife is imagining it. The verb "to gaslight" followed, and the noun came into wide general use in the 2010s.

Full origin of gaslighting →

Frequently asked questions

What is gaslighting in simple terms?

It is when someone repeatedly makes you doubt your own memory or perception — insisting things you clearly remember did not happen, or that you are overreacting — until you stop trusting your own judgement.

Where does the word gaslighting come from?

From "Gas Light," a 1938 play by Patrick Hamilton later made into films. A husband secretly dims the gas lamps in the house and tells his wife she is imagining the change, part of a wider campaign to convince her she is losing her mind.

Is gaslighting always deliberate?

The term normally implies intent — a sustained attempt to distort someone else's sense of reality. People do sometimes dismiss others' experiences carelessly rather than calculatedly, and using "gaslighting" for any disagreement waters the word down.

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Nearby words

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