Gaslighting

Psychologically manipulating someone into doubting their own perception of reality.

Definition

Gaslighting is the deliberate denial of a partner's reality — claiming events didn't happen, claiming the partner is misremembering, or reframing the partner's correct concerns as paranoia. The term comes from the 1944 film Gaslight. It's been so over-applied online that the technical psychological meaning has gotten diluted, but the core pattern — sustained reality-distortion — remains a serious abuse marker.

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