Have you ever felt that “connection” when your favorite celebrity got engaged, when your K-pop bias suddenly announced a relationship, or when you’re convinced a fictional character is “boyfriend” or “girlfriend material” because they share your taste in music? There’s a word for that!
Photo: Taylor Swift/Instagram & BTS/Facebook
Cambridge Dictionary named “Parasocial” as the word of the year for 2025.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word “parasocial” was added to their dictionary in 2023 after their lexicographers noticed that the term was often used in news articles or in popular media.
On their website, “parasocial” is an adjective defined as “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence.”
The word is commonly used in fandom culture. A “parasocial relationship” describes the feeling of knowing a public figure or fictional character despite never meeting them. For example, a fan who becomes emotionally attached to a TV show character, or someone who feels a sense of intimacy or connection with a celebrity who doesn’t even know they exist.
Other popular words recognized by the Cambridge Dictionary this year include “delulu,” “skibidi,” and “tradwife.”
Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year in 2024 was “manifest.”
ALSO READ: Cambridge Dictionary’s 2024 Word of the Year Is One of the “Most Viewed” by Users
What are your thoughts on this? Tell us in the comments!
