Gaslighting, mind manipulating, grossly misleading, downright deceitful is Merriam Webster word of the year. According to Merriam Webster lookups for the word increased 1,740% in 2022 over the year before. But something else happened. There wasn't a single event that drove significant spikes in the curiosity, as it usually goes with the chosen word of the year. But gaslighting was pervasive.