Cambridge names ‘parasocial’ word of the year – what does it mean?

Feeling attached to celebrities you’ve never met? That “parasocial” bond is now the Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2025.

Lexicographers said the choice reflects a growing fascination with 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 concept dates back to 1956, when two University of Chicago sociologists observed television audiences forming bonds with on-screen personalities, treating them almost like friends or family members.

The rise of artificial intelligence also influenced this year’s lexical choices. “Slop”—newly updated in the dictionary—refers to the flood of low-quality AI-generated content now saturating the internet.

Among the 6,212 new words, phrases and meanings added over the past year are entries from online culture such as “skibidi”, “delulu”, and “tradwife”. Lexicographer Colin McIntosh said the dictionary only adds terms expected to have “staying power”, noting that “internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe”.

“Skibidi” is described as a slang term with multiple uses — meaning cool or bad, used humorously without clear meaning, or in expressions such as “What the skibidi are you doing?”. “Delulu” plays on the word delusional, while “tradwife” refers to a traditional wife, often used for married women on social media who focus on domestic duties such as cooking and cleaning.

Simone Schnall, professor of experimental social psychology at the University of Cambridge, called “parasocial” an “inspired” choice. She said such relationships are becoming more intense, noting that many people now treat AI tools “as ‘friends’, offering positive affirmations, or as a proxy for therapy.”