Cambridge picks 'parasocial' as 2025 word of the year, driven by fan culture and AI

Do you feel a deep bond with pop stars like Taylor Swift or Lily Allen -- even though you've never met them?

If you do, then your behaviour is "parasocial" and bang on trend according to the Cambridge Dictionary, which on Tuesday unveiled the adjective as its word of the year for 2025.

Lexicographers picked it in a year they said was marked by interest in the one-sided parasocial relationships that people form with celebrities, influencers and 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 noted television viewers developing parasocial relationships with television personalities, whom they viewed in the same way as close friends or family.

As artificial intelligence becomes an ever-increasing part of people's lives, "slop", which gets an updated definition, refers to low-quality AI-generated content inundating the internet.

New entrants to the Cambridge Dictionary, meanwhile, included "skibidi", "delulu" and "tradwife".

The three were among "6,212 new words, phrases and meanings" included in the online dictionary over the past 12 months, it said.

The dictionary only adds words that are thought to have "staying power", according to one of its lexicographers, Colin McIntosh.

"Internet culture is changing the English language, and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary," he said.

The slang term "skibidi" is described as having different meanings, such as cool or bad.

But it can also be used with no real meaning or as a joke, or in phrases such as: "What the skibidi are you doing?"

"Delulu" is said to be a play on the word delusional.

"Tradwife" is short for traditional wife, meaning a "married woman, especially one who posts on social media, who stays at home doing cooking, cleaning".

Simone Schnall, professor of experimental social psychology at the University of Cambridge, hailed parasocial as an "inspired" choice.

"We've entered an age where many people form unhealthy and intense parasocial relationships with influencers.

"Parasocial trends take on a new dimension as many people treat AI tools like ChatGPT as 'friends', offering positive affirmations, or as a proxy for therapy," he added.