<p id=”par-1_60″>Since 2015, the Cambridge Dictionary has released a Word of the Year, and Taylor Swift inspired it, at least a little bit. Cambridge relies on search patterns, determining the most influential <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/taylor-swift-fans-looking-5-words-new-album-know.html/”>word of the year</a> based on what people online want to know. Here’s how a spike in searches related to Swift’s <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/were-travis-kelce-and-taylor-swift-secretly-engaged-when-she-appeared-on-new-heights.html/”>engagement to Travis Kelce</a> inspired the dictionary’s choice.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-cambridge-used-taylor-swift-and-her-fans-as-an-example-for-their-word-of-the-year”>Cambridge used Taylor Swift and her fans as an example for their Word of the Year</h2>
<p id=”par-2_56″>The <a href=”https://dictionary.cambridge.org/editorial/word-of-the-year?utm_source=cdo_word_scramble&utm_medium=house_ad&utm_campaign=woty2025″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Cambridge Dictionary’s</a> Word of the Year is likely one that people in online fandoms know quite well. The word is “parasocial,” an adjective “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/taylor-swift-queen-lurking-fans.html/”>themselves and a famous person</a> they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence.”</p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>The Cambridge Dictionary <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WordOfTheYear2025?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WordOfTheYear2025</a> is … <img src=”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/1f941.png” alt=”🥁” class=”wp-smiley” style=”height: 1em; max-height: 1em;” /> <br><br> ”parasocial” (adjective) <br><br><img src=”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/1f3c6.png” alt=”🏆” class=”wp-smiley” style=”height: 1em; max-height: 1em;” /> Find out more about <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Parasocial?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Parasocial</a>: <a href=”https://t.co/9OB4s9IUfz”>https://t.co/9OB4s9IUfz</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Parasocial?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Parasocial</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CambridgeWOTY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CambridgeWOTY</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WordOfTheYear2025?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WordOfTheYear2025</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CambridgeDictionary?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CambridgeDictionary</a> <a href=”https://t.co/5D0ceCu5qz”>pic.twitter.com/5D0ceCu5qz</a></p>— Cambridge Dictionary (@CambridgeWords) <a href=”https://twitter.com/CambridgeWords/status/1990691598951461091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 18, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<p id=”par-3_45″>Several of this year’s pop culture moments inspired the choice. In June, a fan of IShowSpeed posted a thread about the YouTube streamer’s split from his girlfriend, Vanessa. This prompted the streamer to block the fan. She begged IShowSpeed to unblock her, prompting the searches. </p>
<p id=”par-4_39″>Other spikes for “parasocial” this year include searches for people’s relationships with Grok on X (formerly Twitter) and for warnings from attorney generals that companies would be held accountable if they did not protect minors against “chatbot parasocial relationships.”</p>
<p id=”par-5_42″>People also associated “parasocial” with searches for <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/travis-kelce-people-setting-backyard-proposal-taylor-swift-distracted-new-heights-podcast-appearance.html/”>Swift’s engagement to Kelce</a>. On Aug. 26, Swift and Kelce announced their intent to marry. Many fans joked about having a “parasocial” relationship with the singer in the aftermath, driving up searches for the word. </p>
<p id=”par-6_11″>Previous Cambridge Words of the Year include “populism,” “upcycling,” and “quarantine.”</p>