GAS-light-ing
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation where someone makes another person question their own reality, memory, or perceptions. The term comes from the 1944 film "Gaslight" and has become a widely recognized concept in psychology and popular culture. In word games, it's a valuable 11-letter word worth significant points.
No. GASLIGHTING is not in the Scrabble-style word list used by our tools (proper nouns, abbreviations and most slang are excluded), so it cannot be played in Scrabble, Words With Friends or Wordfeud. If it were allowed, its tiles would add up to 17 points in Scrabble.
| Letter | G | A | S | L | I | G | H | T | I | N | G | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrabble | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
| Words With Friends | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
| Wordfeud | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation and emotional abuse in which a person or group causes someone to question their own reality, memories, or perceptions. The gaslighter systematically undermines the victim's judgment and self-worth through denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying, ultimately making the victim dependent on the gaslighter for their sense of reality.
This manipulation technique involves several tactics: denying events that clearly occurred, minimizing the victim's feelings, shifting blame, using the victim's insecurities against them, and gradually escalating the abuse. The goal is to destabilize the victim's sense of self and create a power imbalance where the gaslighter maintains control. Victims often experience confusion, anxiety, depression, and a loss of confidence in their own judgment.
While the term originated from a theatrical context, gaslighting is now recognized as a serious form of abuse that can occur in various relationships: romantic partnerships, families, friendships, and workplace dynamics. Mental health professionals consider it a form of coercive control that can have lasting psychological effects. The behavior exists on a spectrum from subtle undermining to severe psychological abuse.
The term "gaslighting" originates from the 1938 stage play "Gas Light" by British playwright Patrick Hamilton. The play was adapted into two films: a British version in 1940 and the more famous American version "Gaslight" in 1944, directed by George Cukor and starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer.
Anagrams: no other word uses exactly the letters of GASLIGHTING.
Words inside GASLIGHTING: 338 shorter words can be made from these letters – highest scoring: ALIGHTINGHAGGLINGHIGGLINGLIGHTINGSSHAGGINGSLIGHTINGGASLIGHTHAGGINGLIGHTINGSIGHTINGGASHINGLATHINGS. See all words from GASLIGHTING.