The “words of the year” selected for 2025 by major dictionaries such as Oxford and Macquarie reveal a growing disillusionment with the digital world - one increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence, emotional manipulation, and deepening skepticism.

Each year, editors from leading publications like the Oxford English Dictionary and Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary choose a “word of the year” to reflect the spirit of the times.

In past years, these selections have often centered on global crises - such as “pandemic” and “lockdown” in 2020 - or reflected cultural shifts, like “gaslighting” in 2022. But this year’s choices focus squarely on the digital realm.

Unlike the early 2000s, when internet culture was met with wide-eyed optimism and words like “blog” and “tweet” entered the lexicon with enthusiasm, the 2025 shortlist reveals a darker mood - marked by artificiality, manipulation, and hollow relationships.

Macquarie Dictionary’s committee selected “AI slop” as its word of the year.

Coined in 2024 by programmer Simon Willison and tech journalist Casey Newton, “AI slop” refers to low-quality, AI-generated content that is often error-ridden, mass-produced, and not requested by users.

“AI slop” can encompass everything from saccharine images of children hugging puppies to generic career advice posts on LinkedIn.

Such content tends to go viral when unsuspecting users on social media share it without realizing it was generated by machines.

Unlike traditional photoshopped images or deepfakes, “AI slop” can be conjured from nothing with a single prompt - no matter how bizarre or meaningless.

One-sided relationships and artificial intimacy

On another corner of the digital spectrum, Cambridge Dictionary chose “parasocial” as its word of the year.

The term describes a one-sided emotional bond that someone feels with a celebrity, fictional character - or increasingly - a piece of artificial intelligence they’ve never actually met.

According to the dictionary’s editor-in-chief, such unreciprocated relationships have been fueled by the public’s obsession with celebrities. For example, the engagement of singer Taylor Swift triggered a spike in searches for the term.

But these connections have taken a stranger turn. Increasingly, people are directing their emotions toward chatbots - forming attachments and seeing them as trusted friends, romantic partners, or even emotional therapists.

Online outrage as a business model

Reflecting the darker side of the attention economy, the Oxford English Dictionary chose “rage bait” as its 2025 word of the year.

Rage bait refers to online content that is deliberately crafted to provoke anger or outrage, often by being offensive or deeply frustrating. The goal: to drive traffic and engagement.

Unlike impulsive or careless hot takes, rage bait is a calculated form of emotional manipulation - often blamed for deepening political divides.

Those who post such content typically lack empathy, viewing the emotions of others as tools for exploitation or profit.

The rise of digital nihilism

What ties these words together is a rising attitude of “digital nihilism.” In a world flooded with misinformation, synthetic images, and machine-written text, knowing what - or who - to trust is becoming harder than ever.

Digital nihilism reflects an acknowledgment that meaning and certainty are slipping away from our online interactions.

It’s a state of confusion and detachment best summed up by a single emoji: "shrug".

Du Lam