gaslight

[gas-lahyt]

verb (used with object)

gaslighted, gaslit, gaslighting. 

1. to cause (a person) to doubt their judgment, memory, or sanity through the use of psychological manipulation.

   How do you know if your partner is gaslighting you?

2. to deceive (a person or group of people) through repetition of a constructed false narrative.

   The cable news networks have been gaslighting their viewers with partisan coverage of the bill.

noun

1. light produced by the combustion of illuminating gas.

2. a gas burner or gas jet for producing light through the process of combustion.

adjective

1. gaslit.

gaslight

/ ˈɡæsˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a type of lamp in which the illumination is produced by an incandescent mantle heated by a jet of gas

2. the light produced by such a lamp

Other Word Forms

• gaslighted adjective
• gaslit adjective
• gaslighting noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gaslight¹

First recorded in 1800–10; gas ( def. ) + light ¹ ( def. ); gaslight def. 1 in reference to the 1944 movie Gaslight, in which an abusive husband secretly and repeatedly dims and brightens the gaslights in the house while accusing his wife of imagining the flickering

Example Sentences

Because honestly, it is so counterproductive to allow influential voices to gaslight the country into forgetting the milestones it’s already crossed.

From Los Angeles Times

“We are not going to tolerate gaslighting from anyone in the media, from anyone on the other side who is trying to say that it’s the president who is weaponizing the DOJ,” Leavitt said.

From Los Angeles Times

“They are gaslighting families into believing that schools are unsafe, when in reality the system already protects students.”

From Los Angeles Times

“So that is gaslighting to white people,” she added, “providing them a permission structure to not look at their moral choice and what they’re doing.”

From Salon

But I think the biggest problem was not reporting abuse; victims were forgiven and often gaslighted.

From BBC

Related Words

• beacon 
• flashlight 
• kerosene lamp www.thesaurus.com
• torch 

When To Use

What does gaslighting mean?

Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse or psychological manipulation involving distorting the truth in order to confuse or create doubt in another person to the point they question their sanity or reality.