'Parasocial' named Cambridge Dictionary word of the year

Cambridge Dictionary has named 'parasocial' as its word of the year for 2025.

The term describes one-sided emotional connections people form with celebrities, influencers, fictional characters, or even AI chatbots, where one party feels they know the other even though there is no real interaction.

The dictionary's editors said the spike in interest came from several cultural trends, including fans reacting emotionally to Taylor Swift's engagement to Travis Kelce, growing attachment to pop figures such as Chappell Roan, and an increasing number of people forming meaningful bonds with AI.

Colin McIntosh, chief editor at Cambridge Dictionary, said the choice reflects a shift in how the language is evolving.

"What was once a specialist academic term has now become mainstream...millions of people are engaged in parasocial relationships."

Cambridge University has raised concerns about the darker side of these relationships.

Psychologist Simone Schnall warned that some parasocial relationships can become unhealthy and intense, especially when they involve celebrities or AI. People may treat these one-sided bonds as if they were real friendships or even romantic partners.

In addition to 'parasocial', this year Cambridge Dictionary added the word 'slop' to its dictionary.

'Slop' refers to content on the internet that is of very low quality, especially when it is created by artificial intelligence.

Other AI-associated additions include 'pseudonymisation', a process in which information relates to a particular person, for example, a name or an email address, and 'memify', which means to turn an event, image, person, etc., into a meme.

A full round-up of words can be found at Cambridge.org