‘Rage Bait’ is Oxford’s 2025 Word of the Year: NPR

Take a deep breath and think about your happy place: “rage bait” is the word of the year 2025 in Oxford.

After three days of online voting by more than 30,000 participants, Oxford University Press announced Monday that “rage bait” was the official choice, beating out fellow nominees “aura farm” and “biohack.”

Defined as “online content deliberately designed to arouse anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive,” rage-baiting is “usually posted in order to increase traffic or engagement with a particular web page or social media account,” according to the Oxford definition.

When Internet content produces a charged, negative emotional response from viewers, whether intentionally or not, it likely falls into the rage-baiting category.

Oxford intervenes

Before the term “rage bait” entered the English lexicon around 2002, “the Internet was about getting our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks,” says Casper Grathwohl, president of the Oxford Languages ​​division at Oxford University Press. “Now we have seen a sea change in the hijacking and influence of our emotions and how we respond.”

In recent months, the word gained popularity after actress Jennifer Lawrence revealed that she has a secret TikTok account that she uses to “fight” with strangers online.

Oxford calls rage bait “the Internet’s most effective hook,” used to stimulate that ever-responsive feeling of human anger that exists—though perhaps in different forms—in all of us.

This year, according to Oxford, “has been a year defined by humanity’s transformation into a technology-driven world.”

They cite deepfake celebrities, AI-generated influencers, and virtual companions as examples of technologies that infiltrate our minds and, in particular, our emotions.

Is it possible to be “rage baited” by ChatGPT, or “rage baited” by the chatbot itself? Perhaps now more than ever.

But it’s not just machine learning technologies that can “bait” their users, or vice versa. General social unrest and concerns over “digital wellbeing” have caused an increase in the use of the word in 2025, according to Oxford language experts.

“This significant increase reflects a trend in media in general that rewards rabid baiters with engagement,” reads the “Why is he on our shortlist?” section.“ Oxford briefs for “rage bait”.

Personifying the 2025 shortlist

Over the past few years, Oxford Press has used social media to gather public opinion on its Word of the Year shortlist. This year, they intentionally used their Instagram page to launch a digital campaign for the three shortlisted words.

“Rage Bait” has been personified as an anonymous individual wearing what appears to be an alien lizard mask. “I’m glad you’re angry!” » reads the blurb on his campaign poster, intentionally misspelled.

“Biohack” appeared as a robotic woman drinking green juice who asks viewers, “have you ever tried to modify your lifespan?” Played by London-based actress and model Brenda Finn, the personified “biohack” subtly alludes to the explosion in international popularity of plastic surgery and anti-aging diets.

And “aura farming” – the “cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic personality or public image” – appeared as a stylish influencer staring wistfully into the distance. If elected, Aura Farming’s “to-do list” includes banning fluorescent lighting, establishing a universal basic income for micro-influencers, and teaching people to ride bikes hands-free: because “no one should have to choose between reading 19th century poetry and balancing on two wheels.”

Is it any surprise that last year’s word of the year was “brainrot”?