It’s a love story.
The term “parasocial” has just been named Cambridge Dictionary’s 2025 word of the year — and its popularity was partly inspired by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement.
The word refers to when a person feels like they have a relationship with a famous person — despite not knowing them personally.
The word was coined back in the 1950s — when University of Chicago sociologists noticed TV viewers engaging in “para-social” relationships with those on the small screen — but Cambridge Dictionary noticed a spike in searches for the word this year.
“Parasocial stood out in 2025 for several reasons. Public interest in the term increased massively this year, as we can see from our data: the number of searches for it in the Cambridge Dictionary as well as on Google spiked on several occasions,” Colin McIntosh, Cambridge Dictionary’s chief editor, said.
“It’s interesting from a language point of view because it has made the transition from an academic term to one used by ordinary people in their social media posts. And it also captures the zeitgeist of 2025, as the public’s fascination with celebrities and their lifestyles continues to reach new heights.”
Psychologists looking into the recent rise of parasocial relationships observed the intense interest from fans when Swift and her NFL star beau broke the internet with their engagement news in August.
Cambridge Dictionary also cited parasocial interest displayed by Swifties when the duo announced their engagement.
