Meanings
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1
verb
to manipulate someone into doubting their own memory, perceptions, or judgment
He tried to gaslight her by insisting that the conversation had never happened.
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2
noun
a gas-burning lamp or the illumination produced by burning coal gas
The narrow street glowed dimly under the yellow gaslight.
Thesaurus
Etymology
The literal noun, recorded in the early nineteenth century, is gas + light and refers to illumination from burning coal gas. The psychological verb comes from Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play Gas Light and its film adaptations, in which a husband alters the gaslights while persuading his wife that her perceptions are unreliable.