South Africans are increasingly turning to Google to understand complex emotions, relationships and social lingo, with the word “gaslighting” emerging as the country’s most searched word definition in 2026.
New research by Unscramblerer.com found that gaslighting had 36,300 monthly searches, followed by narcissist with 38,200, love with 34,500, anxiety with 31,000 and metaphor with 30,800 searches.
Other frequently searched terms included integrity, fatigue, agile, stress, spiritual and resilience.
Unscramblerer.com spokesperson Randoh Sallihall said the findings suggested South Africans were searching for language that helped them make sense of personal experiences and broader societal issues.
“One of the most striking findings is that SA’s top searched definitions in 2026 are dominated by abstract concepts rather than objects.
“From gaslighting and narcissist to integrity and democracy, people are searching for words that help them navigate relationships, emotions and the wider world,” Sallihall said.
Regional search patterns also revealed differing interests across the country.
Resilience was the most searched definition in the Eastern Cape, while nonchalant topped searches in Mpumalanga, narcissist in Limpopo, gaslighting in North West, integrity in the Western Cape, grace in Gauteng and agile in KwaZulu-Natal.
Spiritual ranked highest in both the Free State and Northern Cape.
“Our research shows that emotional wellbeing, values, society and personal growth are the categories that stand out the most.
“People are searching for definitions to understand personal experiences and public conversations better,” Sallihall said.
Emotional wellbeing-related searches included words such as anxiety, stress, fatigue, empathy, clingy, nonchalant and apathy.
Value-based searches featured democracy, equity, ethics, corruption, power and capacity, while personal growth and educational terms included resilience, discernment, spiritual, science, metaphor, agile and grace.
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