Cambridge Dictionary has revealed "parasocial" as its word of the year for 2025, defined as involving a connection someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know.Psychologists have observed how the rise of one-sided parasocial relationships has redefined fandom and celebrity.

Feel connected to a celebrity you’ve never met in person? "Parasocial" has been crowned Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year, highlighting the rise in “unhealthy” and “one-sided” relationships with celebrities,

A term used to describe the connection people feel with celebrities, TV shows, and even artificial intelligence, has taken out a prestigious linguistic crown.

Cambridge Dictionary has chosen its word of the year, and it surprisingly calls out every person who lives and worships celebrity culture.

Parasocial describes a connection that people form with someone they don't know, particularly with celebrities, influencers - Anadolu Ajansı

The Cambridge Dictionary's 2025 Word of the Year is 'parasocial', which means the one-sided connection that people feel with someone they do not know. However, can these parasocial relationships be toxic?

“Slop” means poorly crafted AI content, “memeify”, means to turn an event into a meme, and “pseudonymization” is a form of encryption that turns individual information like names and addresses into a number or name that has no meaning.