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.

Parasocial refers to when a person feels like they have a relationship with a famous person — despite not knowing them personally. Dzmitry – stock.adobe.com

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 interes

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