Cambridge Dictionary has chosen “parasocial” as its Word of the Year for 2025, a term used to describe the connection people feel with someone they do not actually know, or even with an artificial intelligence.
The word was coined in 1956 by sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl to describe how television viewers formed “parasocial” relationships with TV personalities, the dictionary notes. The same phenomenon is now visible as social media users build parasocial bonds with celebrities, influencers and online figures with whom they have no personal relationship.
Celebrity examples
Cambridge Dictionary points to singer Taylor Swift, who announced her engagement this year to NFL star Travis Kelce, prompting fans to share deeply personal feelings about a couple the vast majority have never met.
Another example is British singer Lily Allen. Her latest album, “West End Girl,” tells the story of a break up and triggered intense parasocial interest in her love life, according to the dictionary.
Parasocial bonds with ChatGPT and other AI
Use of the term has surged this year, driven in part by concern over the relationships some people are starting to form with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT.
Colin McIntosh, a lexicographer at Cambridge Dictionary, said the word “captures the zeitgeist of 2025” and shows how language is changing.
“What was once a niche academic term has gone mainstream,” he said. “Millions of people are involved in parasocial relationships, and many more are fascinated by their rise. The language around parasocial phenomena is evolving quickly, as technology, society and culture shift and mutate, from celebrities to chatbots.”
Simone Schnall, professor of experimental social psychology at the University of Cambridge, called the choice “inspired.”
“The rise of parasocial relationships has reshaped what it means to be a fan and a celebrity and, with artificial intelligence, how ordinary people interact online,” she said. “We have entered an era where many people create unhealthy and intense parasocial relationships with influencers. This leads to a feeling that they ‘know’ the person they follow, can trust them, even to extreme forms of loyalty. Yet the relationship is completely one sided.”
Other new words shaping 2025
Cambridge Dictionary also highlighted other terms that it says had “significant impact” this year.
Among them is “slop,” defined as “online content that is very low quality, especially when created by artificial intelligence,” and “memeify,” meaning “to turn an event, image, person and so on into a meme.”
The dictionary added 6,000 new words this year, with notable entries including “delulu,” “skibidi” and “tradwife.”