Cambridge Dictionary Names 'Parasocial' 2025 Word of the Year

Cambridge Dictionary defines “Parasocial” 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.” It can now also be defined as the dictionary’s 2025 Word of the Year, thanks, at least in part, to Taylor Swift ‘s engagement to Travis Kelce, streamer iShowSpeed blocking an overzealous fan, and widespread controversies involving AI chatbots.

“As social media intensifies the intimacy that fans feel with their adored celebrities, and with the rise in popularity of AI companions that can take on personalities, the word for these one-way relationships – parasocial – is having its own moment,” Cambridge Dictionary wrote in an overview of the term’s d