Do you feel a deep connection with pop stars like Taylor Swift or Lily Allen, even though you’ve never met them? If so, you’re engaging in a “parasocial” relationship—the Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2025.

Lexicographers chose the adjective in a year marked by growing attention to one-sided relationships people form with celebrities, influencers, and even AI chatbots.

Parasocial is defined as:

“Involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know.”

The term dates back to 1956, when two University of Chicago sociologists observed television viewers forming close bonds with TV personalities, treating them like friends or family.

As AI becomes more ingrained in daily life, the dictionary also updated the definition of “slop”, referring to low-quality AI-generated content flooding the internet.

Other new additions to the Cambridge Dictionary include:

• Skibidi – slang with multiple meanings, from “cool” to “bad,” or used humorously in phrases like, “What the skibidi are you doing?”
• Delulu – a playful shortening of “delusional.”
• Tradwife – short for “traditional wife,” describing a married woman, often on social media, who stays home managing cooking and cleaning.

Colin McIntosh, a Cambridge lexicographer, explained that new entries are added only if they show “staying power,” noting that internet culture is reshaping the English language in fascinating ways.

Professor Simone Schnall of Cambridge University praised the choice of parasocial as “inspired,” highlighting that many people now form intense, sometimes unhealthy, connections with influencers.

“Parasocial trends are evolving as people even treat AI tools like ChatGPT as friends, offering positive affirmations or using them as a therapy proxy,” Schnall added.

This word reflects a cultural moment where the boundaries between real and mediated relationships continue to blur.