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,

TV was the initial cause of the phenomenon, which has been expanded and intensified with the development of social media.

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.

The term is used to describe "a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know," according to the dictionary

"Parasocial" is the Cambridge Dictionary's Word of the Year, defined as a relationship felt by someone between themselves and a famous person they do not know. Its examples include the parasocial interest displayed by fans when singer Taylor Swift and American footballer Travis Kelce announced their engagement.

If you felt more excited for Taylor Swift’s engagement announcement earlier this year than you did for your friend or family member’s, you might relate to Cambridge Dictionary’s word of 2025: "parasocial,

“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.