gaslighting

American  

[gas-lahy-ting] / ˈgæsˌlaɪ tɪŋ /

noun

1. the use of psychological manipulation to undermine a person’s faith in their own judgment, memory, or sanity.

   Gaslighting is not restricted to romantic relationships, but also occurs in friendships and among family members.

2. the practice of deceiving people through the repetition of a constructed false narrative.

   It’s not uncommon for victims of gaslighting to argue passionately in favor of the story they’ve been fed.

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Etymology

Origin of gaslighting

First recorded in 1815–25, for a literal sense; 1960–65, for the current senses; gaslight ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

Gaslighting is when someone arguing with you lies and twists things so convincingly that you wonder, "Am I crazy? Am I losing my memory?" If someone takes your brownie and says, "No, you ate it, remember? You even said you liked the nuts in it!" — that’s gaslighting. This sense of gaslighting first appeared in the 1960s and is now the only meaning, since gas has not been used for lighting for a long time. It comes from a British play called Gas Light, written in 1838 by Patrick Hamilton. The play was a thriller in which a man causes his wife to question her sanity by secretly changing the brightness of the gas lights in their home when leaving her alone, all the while pretending that no such change has occurred.

Example Sentences

Theodore Boutrous, a Times lawyer, accused the administration at a hearing before Friedman in a Washington court on Monday of "gaslighting" and "bad faith."

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

Yet we may be gaslighting ourselves about the likelihood of either nation meeting its deadline for putting humans on the lunar surface—China in 2030, the U.S. in 2028.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

“The days of gaslighting should be over,” he called out.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2026

Lower court judges have consistently pushed back against this gaslighting.

From Slate • Aug. 1, 2025

"I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon also would serve to contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative."

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2025