gaslight
gaslight Lexical Profile
gaslight Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To manipulate someone psychologically over time into questioning their own memory, perception of reality, or sanity.
"He tried to gaslight his business partner by moving important documents and denying they had ever existed."
To illuminate a theatre, street, or building with gas lamps.
"Before the introduction of electricity, municipal workers were hired to gaslight the city's main avenues each evening."
• noun
The light or illumination produced by burning gas in a lamp or burner.
"In the nineteenth century, the cobblestone streets of London were dimly illuminated by gaslight."
A lamp or lighting fixture that produces illumination by burning a gaseous fuel, such as coal gas or natural gas.
"The historic district still features cast-iron streetlamps fitted with traditional gaslights."
Word Nuance & Usage
Both 'gaslit' and 'gaslighted' are accepted past tense and past participle forms of the verb, though 'gaslit' has become more common in modern usage. In casual conversation, the verb is frequently overused as a synonym for simply lying or disagreeing, whereas true gaslighting involves a sustained, manipulative effort to make someone doubt their own perception of reality.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The literal noun dates to the early 19th century, combining 'gas' and 'light' to refer to illumination produced by burning coal gas. The psychological verb sense derives from Patrick Hamilton's 1938 stage play 'Gas Light' (and its 1940 and 1944 film adaptations), in which a manipulative husband secretly dims the household gas lamps and insists his wife is imagining the flickering to make her believe she is losing her mind.