Cambridge Dictionary Names 'Parasocial' As 2025 Word Of The Year

Cambridge Dictionary named 'parasocial' its 2025 Word of the Year, highlighting a sharp rise in public interest in the once-specialist term.

“Do you ever feel like you know a celebrity you follow online, even though you've never met them in real life”

BBC

The term describes a one-sided emotional connection to a celebrity, a fictional character, or even an AI chatbot.

BBC

The concept dates back to 1956 when sociologists first described viewers’ quasi-relationships with on-screen personalities.

Cambridge and other outlets say lookups and searches for the word jumped this year amid high-profile celebrity moments and viral online incidents.

The dictionary’s announcement and reporting stress that parasocial ties now span influencers, performers and emerging AI companions.

Many reports and experts highlighted AI as a pivotal factor widening parasocial reach.

Cambridge and regional outlets reported that chatbots and virtual companions prompted Cambridge to update definitions and spurred spikes in lookups.

Brandsynario

Psychologists warn that people, especially young people, can treat AI tools as friends or pseudo-therapists, creating powerful but one-sided attachments.

Journalistic coverage also linked the topic to regulatory and safety concerns.

Investigative reporting and magazine features pointed to state attorneys-general warnings, Meta internal findings, and instances where AI services were tied to harm among young users.

Alongside the Word of the Year choice, coverage stressed Cambridge's wider vocabulary updates: the dictionary added thousands of new entries this cycle and highlighted internet-culture slang and AI-era vocabulary.

“Cambridge Dictionary has named "parasocial" as its word of the year for 2025, a term that describes the connection someone feels with a celebrity they've never met”

Cambridge News

Outlets catalogued additions and examples, from slang such as delulu, skibidi and tradwife to terms like slop for low-quality AI content and memeify, framing the selections as part of ongoing language evolution driven by social media and technology.

The precise counts vary by outlet, but all note a multi-thousand-entry expansion this year.

Coverage and tone vary by source type.

Tabloid and local outlets tend to present the selection tersely or as a gossip-adjacent hook tied to celebrity moments.

Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Mainstream outlets and lexicographic reporting stress language trends and editorial criteria.

Regional and specialist outlets often highlight cultural or mental-health angles.

Some publishers lack full text in the provided snippets, which limits what they contribute to the record.

Observers and Cambridge's editors framed the selection as reflecting a cultural moment.

“Cambridge Dictionary has named its word of the year for 2025: "parasocial," used to describe a connection people feel with someone they don’t know — or even with an artificial intelligence”

CNN

Lexicographer Colin McIntosh and other editors pointed to spikes in lookups and to the need for words that show staying power.

CNN

Psychologists and regional commentators warned that parasocial dynamics may reshape celebrity, trust, and youth mental health.

The pick sits alongside other dictionaries' 2025 choices and wider discussions about how technology and fandom reshape language and behaviour.