Cambridge Dictionary named "parasocial" as its 2025 world of the year, citing the global coverage of pop superstar Taylor Swift's engagement to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce as one of the key factors in its selection.

Cambridge Dictionary defines the adjective "parasocial" as "involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence." The website credits the popularity of social media for intensifying the intimacy that fans feel for celebrities, as well as the rise in artificial intelligence and AI chatbots taking on a companionship role, for the spike in searches for the word.

"Parasocial" saw several spikes in searches during the summer of 2025, specifically noting how the global coverage of Swift and Kelce's engagement led to a spike in searches for the word.

"Global coverage of the way in which Taylor Swift announced her engagement to Travis Kelce caused lookups of parasocial to surge as the media dissected fans’ reactions. Posts by fans say 'I’m not being parasocial about it” and talk about “a Swiftie being parasocial for ten minutes straight,'" the website stated.

"Parasocial" also spiked in June when a fan begged YouTube streamer iShowSpeed to unblock her after she referred to herself as his "number 1 parasocial"; the release of the xAI Grok chatbot in July; and 44 United States attorneys general sending a letter to 13 companies that had developed AI chatbots warning of harmful "chatbot parasocial relationships" in August.

Angela Yee Day

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