“Parasocial” Chosen by Cambridge Dictionary

Feeling emotionally connected to a celebrity, influencer, or even an AI chatbot you’ve never met? You’re not alone. Cambridge Dictionary has officially crowned “parasocial” as its 2025 Word of the Year, highlighting the increasing prevalence of one-sided, often unhealthy digital relationships.

What Does “Parasocial” Mean?

According to Cambridge Dictionary, parasocial describes a connection someone feels with:

a celebrity or public figure they do not personally know,

fictional characters in books, films, or TV series,

or artificial intelligence personalities such as chatbots or virtual companions.

This marks only the second time an adjective has received the title, following “paranoid” in 2016.

Why “Parasocial” Was Chosen for 2025

Searches for “parasocial” spiked dramatically throughout the year—particularly during highly publicized celebrity events, such as Taylor Swift’s engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce, which triggered an explosion of fan reactions online.

Colin McIntosh, Cambridge Dictionary’s Chief Editor, explained that the word “captures the 2025 zeitgeist,” reflecting how language evolves with culture. Once an academic term coined in 1956 by sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl, “parasocial” is now widely used in everyday social media conversations.

The Growth of Parasocial Relationships in the Digital Age

The rise of social media has amplified what used to be a niche psychological concept. Fans today enjoy unprecedented access to celebrities through livestreams, comments, behind-the-scenes posts, and curated content—creating an illusion of mutual connection.

Professor Simone Schnall, an expert in social psychology at the University of Cambridge, notes that parasocial relationships have “redefined fandom, celebrity, and—with AI—the way people interact online.” She warns that many individuals form intense, one-sided bonds with influencers or AI tools, mistaking them for genuine friendships, support systems, or even therapeutic relationships.

AI Chatbots and the New Era of Digital Attachment

One of the most notable trends in 2025 is the increase in people forming emotional attachments to AI chatbots. Users frequently treat these tools as companions, seeking validation or comfort. Experts caution that this type of behavior can create a misleading sense of intimacy and dependence.

Other Trending Words from Cambridge Dictionary in 2025

In addition to “parasocial,” Cambridge Dictionary highlighted several emerging terms shaping today’s digital culture:

Pseudonymization – Transforming personal data into coded identifiers to protect privacy.

Slop – Low-quality online content, often generated by AI.

Memeify – Turning an event, person, or image into a meme.

Additional tracked vocabulary includes:

Glazing – Over-the-top praise used by AI chatbots to mask weak input.

Bias – A K-pop fan’s favorite group member.

Vibey – Describing a place with a great atmosphere.

Doom spending – Spending money impulsively as a form of emotional relief.

2025 and the Language of Online Culture

With Dictionary.com choosing the Gen Alpha social phrase “6-7”, and Collins Dictionary naming “vibe coding”—an emerging AI-powered software development trend—as its own Word of the Year, it’s clear that digital culture continues to shape the language we use every day.

Cambridge Dictionary’s selection of “parasocial” captures a defining feature of the modern era: our growing tendency to form deep emotional bonds with people—and technologies—we’ve never met.