gaslighting
gaslighting noun: illumination by burning gas. Also the present participle and gerund of gaslight.
Noun
gaslighting (usually uncountable, plural gaslightings)
- Illumination by burning gas.
- This is a general article summarizing progress in incandescent gaslighting since the days of the flat flame burner.December, 1909, J. S. Dow, “Pressgasbeleuchtung, by R. Bremer”, in The Illuminating Engineer, volume IV, number 10, page 520
- Manipulation intended to trick the victim(s) into doubting their perception of reality.
- In the Disney movie, Oz, the Great and Powerful, Oz's gaslighting schemes showcase his extreme case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder.2013, Victoria Summit, Stop Dancing in the Gaslight: Recognizing Domestic Abuse is Half the Battle, Scarlett Publishing, page 14
- “Defendants’ representations to this Court that Mr. Musk is not running DOGE are tantamount to legal gaslighting,” CREW said.2025 March 30, Tierney Sneed, “Is DOGE actually an agency? The answer could have major ramifications”, in CNN
Also used as
gaslighting is also the present participle and gerund of gaslight.
Forms of gaslighting
| plural | gaslightings |
|---|---|
| alternative form | gas lighting |
Origin of gaslighting
For the figurative sense, from gaslight + -ing; see explanation at gaslight § Etymology 2.
Questions about gaslighting
- What does gaslighting mean?
- Gaslighting means illumination by burning gas.
- What part of speech is gaslighting?
- Gaslighting is a noun.
- What is the plural of gaslighting?
- The plural of gaslighting is gaslightings.
Words near gaslighting in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gaslighting (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “gaslighting.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gaslighting. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.