Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to gaslight
Participle: gaslighted; gaslit
Gerund: gaslighting
Cognates
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Indicative
Present
| I | gaslight |
| you | gaslight |
| he;she;it | gaslights |
| we | gaslight |
| you | gaslight |
| they | gaslight |
Perfect
| I | have gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | have gaslighted; gaslit |
| he;she;it | has gaslighted; gaslit |
| we | have gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | have gaslighted; gaslit |
| they | have gaslighted; gaslit |
Past
| I | gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | gaslighted; gaslit |
| he;she;it | gaslighted; gaslit |
| we | gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | gaslighted; gaslit |
| they | gaslighted; gaslit |
Pluperfect
| I | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| he;she;it | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| we | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| they | had gaslighted; gaslit |
Future
| I | will gaslight |
| you | will gaslight |
| he;she;it | will gaslight |
| we | will gaslight |
| you | will gaslight |
| they | will gaslight |
Future Perfect
| I | will have gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | will have gaslighted; gaslit |
| he;she;it | will have gaslighted; gaslit |
| we | will have gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | will have gaslighted; gaslit |
| they | will have gaslighted; gaslit |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | gaslight |
| you | gaslight |
| he;she;it | gaslight |
| we | gaslight |
| you | gaslight |
| they | gaslight |
Perfect
| I | have gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | have gaslighted; gaslit |
| he;she;it | have gaslighted; gaslit |
| we | have gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | have gaslighted; gaslit |
| they | have gaslighted; gaslit |
Imperfect
| I | gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | gaslighted; gaslit |
| he;she;it | gaslighted; gaslit |
| we | gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | gaslighted; gaslit |
| they | gaslighted; gaslit |
Pluperfect
| I | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| he;she;it | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| we | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | had gaslighted; gaslit |
| they | had gaslighted; gaslit |
Conditional
Present
| I | would gaslight |
| you | would gaslight |
| he;she;it | would gaslight |
| we | would gaslight |
| you | would gaslight |
| they | would gaslight |
Perfect
| I | would have gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | would have gaslighted; gaslit |
| he;she;it | would have gaslighted; gaslit |
| we | would have gaslighted; gaslit |
| you | would have gaslighted; gaslit |
| they | would have gaslighted; gaslit |
Imperative
| you | gaslight |
| we | Let's gaslight |
| you | gaslight |
Verbs similar to 'gaslight'
alight,
daylight,
mislight,
slight,
adight,
aright,
backlight,
belight,
blight,
delight,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
From the 1938 stage play Gas Light by the English playwright and novelist Patrick Hamilton (1904–1962), and its 1940 and 1944 film adaptations, in which a husband attempts to convince his wife and others that she is insane by manipulating small elements of their environment. For more details, see also Gaslighting § Etymology on Wikipedia.
Verbs referencing "gaslight"
Finnish with old forms
kaasuvalottaa, Dutch
gaslighten.
Sample Sentences
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Sylvia is a beautiful woman whose business-partner husband is "gaslighting" her. (That means he's trying to drive her crazy.) [1962, "The Journal Pre-Views Tonight's TV." Jersey Journal [Jersey City, NJ]. February 12, 1962: 12 col 6, describing the plot of the episode "Who Is Sylvia" of the television show Surfside 6]
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[The men of McHale's Navy] decide to "gaslight" the already befuddled captain, to convince him he is going insane. [1963, "TV Scout." Daily Press [Utica, NY]. November 18, 1963: 24 col 2, describing the plot of the episode "The August Teahouse of Quint McHale" of McHale's Navy]
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"You're gaslighting me, for chrissakes." [1964, in an argument between the characters Jenny and Charley in William Goldman's novel Boys and Girls Together, page 564]
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1967, Stan Freberg (comedian), on his "most excruciating experience with a producer" as interviewed in Humphrey, Hal. "'Dramatic' Role Played By Freberg." The Oregonian [Portland, OR]. February 11, 1967: II 3 col 3.
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I came home before he could gaslight me like Boyer did Bergman in the movie.
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Just in the nick of time Rachel finds out the truth about her life from Martha. … This is how I wanted to show the gaslighting that had been going on Rachel's entire life. [2016, Tate Taylor (movie director), in the commentary version of The Girl on the Train (2016 film), discussing a train scene seventy-six minutes into the movie]
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In fact, political scholars have written a great deal about Trump's gaslighting of the American people on various fronts. For example, Duca (2016) describes Trump's gaslighting as only beginning when he has initially lied or misled about issues—such as falsely claiming that the United States is the highest-taxed country in the world or that crime is on the rise. As Duca puts it: 'The gaslighting part comes in when the fictions are disputed by the media and Trump doubles down on his lies before painting himself as a victim […]' [2021 September 28, Alexander Brown, An Ethics of Political Communication, Routledge, →ISBN:]
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It brags “we can replace them”—and gaslights and demonizes those who notice and object to being replaced. [2023 July 21, Michael Anton, “The Pessimistic Case for the Future”, in Compact, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2024:]