America Googled 'Gaslighting' More Than 'Love' in 2026
Gaslighting. The word that 286,900 Americans looked up the definition of every single month this year. More than "love" (274,900 searches). More than "empathy" (265,600). More than pretty much anything else on the list. If the dictionary is a mirror, the 2026 reflection is... a lot to sit with.
Unscramblerer.com analyzed 130 search variations of definition searches using Google Trends and Ahrefs data from January 1 to July 7, 2026. What they found tells you something about the national vocabulary right now. Some of it is dark. Some of it is surprisingly literary. And Montana searched for "gouache," which is just Montana being Montana.
The Feelings Cluster at the Top
The five most searched word definitions this year read like a conversation someone's been rehearsing:
- Gaslighting: 286,900 monthly searches
- Love: 274,900
- Empathy: 265,600
- Fascism: 264,700
- Integrity: 262,100
That's three psychological or emotional terms, one political alarm word, and one moral aspiration. All within 25,000 searches of each other. People aren't browsing casually. They're trying to name something they're experiencing. When gaslighting tops the chart, a lot of people are trying to figure out whether what's happening to them is real. That's not trivia. That's a national mood.
"Love" at number two is quietly reassuring. Even when people are searching for whether they're being manipulated, they're also looking up the thing they want most.
The Political Vocabulary List
If you thought the dictionary was neutral ground, check the rest of the top 25:
- Narcissist: 186,500 searches
- Democracy: 183,100
- Bias: 174,200
- Justice: 164,500
- Equity: 158,400
- Socialism: 151,700
- Republic: 149,800
- Propaganda: 143,300
People are looking up the definitions of words they keep hearing. This isn't ignorance. It's due diligence. When a word gets weaponized in public debate, you go check what it actually means. That's healthy. The fact that "propaganda" made the list might be the most self-aware thing on it.
The Word Nerds Are Also Here
Here's the part that'll make you feel better. Three purely linguistic terms cracked the top 25:
- Metaphor: 242,200 searches
- Adjective: 174,500
- Hyperbole: 155,700
Metaphor is the 6th most searched word definition in America. More people looked it up than "narcissist," "culture," "democracy," or "bias." That's either a lot of students doing homework or a lot of adults who finally got tired of nodding along when someone said "that's a metaphor for something."
Either way, welcome to ruzzle. You're exactly where you belong.
"Hyperbole" at 155,700 is particularly satisfying because it's one of those words people use constantly without being totally sure they're landing it right. It's the most ironic word to get wrong. (It means deliberate exaggeration for effect, in case you're one of the 155,700.)
And "nuance" made the list at 132,900 monthly searches, which means at least some people know that simple definitions don't always cut it.
The State Breakdown Gets Weird Fast
Every state has one word that topped its definition searches. Some make complete sense. Some raise questions.
Rhode Island's top searched definition was "Providence." Their own capital city. One possibility is that Rhode Islanders were looking up the theological concept of divine providence rather than the city. The other possibility is just very funny.
Montana's top word was "gouache." As in the painting medium. While Alaska and Oregon were both searching fascism, Montana was researching opaque watercolor. This paints a picture. (Gouache is the one you can paint over after it dries, for what it's worth.)
Maine searched "ursine," which means relating to bears. Maine has black bears. Completely reasonable. Zero questions.
Then there are the clusters. Three states searched "metaphor" the most: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Three went with "revenue": Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Washington. Four landed on "love": Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Colorado and Idaho both searched "adjective" more than anything else. Two states. One grammar term. This feels like a conspiracy and the conspiracy is wholesome.
What This Actually Means for Word People
The words at the top of this list are almost all ones where precision matters. Gaslighting. Fascism. Propaganda. Metaphor. Integrity. People aren't looking these up because they've never heard them. They're looking them up because they want to know exactly where the word starts and stops, what it includes and what it doesn't.
That's the same instinct that makes you good at word games. Caring about what words actually mean, specifically and precisely, is the whole game. You just get points for it in Scrabble.
And "apathy" made the list at 137,700 monthly searches, which means people are at least curious enough about apathy to look it up. That's something.
Source: Languagelog