gaslighting

noun

"gaslighting" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gaslighting” is uncommon English (frequency #51,721 among 18,276 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,721
frequency rank, English
18,276
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - gerund of gaslight

Key facts for gaslighting
PropertyValue
Headwordgaslighting
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#51,721
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “gaslighting” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). gaslighting lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gaslighting is uncommon English at frequency #51,721 among 18,276 “G” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "gerund of gaslight".

Zero misspellings are on record for gaslighting in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From gaslight + -ing; see explanation at gaslight § Etymology 2. The correct English form is gaslighting, spelled G-A-S-L-I-G-H-T-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    gerund of gaslight

Etymology

From gaslight + -ing; see explanation at gaslight § Etymology 2.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gaslighting"?
"gaslighting" is spelled G-A-S-L-I-G-H-T-I-N-G.
What does "gaslighting" mean?
As a noun, "gaslighting" means: gerund of gaslight
What is the origin of the word "gaslighting"?
From gaslight + -ing; see explanation at gaslight § Etymology 2. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “gaslighting”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-A-S-L-I-G-H-T-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list