'Parasocial' has officially been named the Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year for 2025 after a huge rise in people searching for the term. According to Cambridge University Press and Assessment (CUP), there were two major showbiz moments that triggered the popularity of the word. Lily Allen dropped her revenge breakup album West End Girl, leaning into public curiosity about her love life, and people started using “parasocial” to describe the way fans were following every detail. Lily’s album