Oxford: Rage Bait is the word of the year

According to the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, use of the term has tripled in the last 12 months.

Do you feel increasingly irritated when browsing social media? If so, you could be the victim of rabid baiting – the term that Oxford University Press has named as the word or phrase of the year 2025.

According to the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, use of the term has tripled in the last 12 months. It describes manipulative online tactics aimed at attracting the attention of large numbers of users through strong negative reactions.

Even if you haven’t heard of this term, if you use social media, you’ve probably come across such content before. Oxford University Press defines it as online publications deliberately designed to provoke anger or outrage by being provocative or offensive.

Like the familiar “clickbait,” which uses misleading headlines to attract attention, rage bait specifically aims to make the user angry. The goal is usually to increase traffic to a site or profile.

The term “rage bait” beat out two other finalists:

– Aura farming – the creation of an impressive or mysterious public image through behavior that subtly conveys confidence, charisma, or mystique.

– Biohack – an attempt to improve one’s physical or mental state by changing one’s diet, exercise, lifestyle or through medications, supplements and technologies.

The winner was chosen after a public vote, the results of which guided the final decision by OUP language experts.

“The fact that the word rage bait exists and that its use has grown so dramatically shows that we are increasingly aware of the manipulation we are subject to online,” said Casper Gratwall, president of Oxford Languages.

Gratwall described the trend as “a natural step in the conversation about what it means to be human in a technology-driven world.”

Last year’s word of the year – brain rot – reflected the mental exhaustion from aimless scrolling on Instagram and TikTok. According to Gratwall, the two consecutive words chosen describe a cycle: “Outrage breeds engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure leaves us mentally exhausted.” »

In previous years, words such as selfie, goblin mode and rizz have won the title.

The Cambridge Dictionary has chosen parasocial as its word of the year for 2025 – a one-sided emotional connection a person feels for a celebrity they have never interacted with. One example is fans’ interest in the relationship and engagement of Taylor Swift and American football player Travis Kelce.

Collins Dictionary named vibe coding – the practice of creating applications or websites by describing them to artificial intelligence, rather than by hand programming – as the word of the year.

Photo illustrative de Sergey Guk : https://www.pexels.com/photo/historic-oxford-college-building-with-garden-path-28448938/