Oxford University Press has selected “rage bait’’ as its 2025 Word of the Year, highlighting how easily outrage can be engineered online in an era dominated by viral controversies and emotional manipulation.
The publisher noted that the term had surged in use over the past year and best captured the “internet zeitgeist of 2025.”
Oxford defines “rage bait” as online material “deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive,” typically to boost traffic or engagement on social platforms.
CONFIRMED: Oxford University Press has named ‘rage bait’ as the Oxford Word of the Year 2025.#OxfordWOTY pic.twitter.com/JATZPd9oxh
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— University of Oxford (@UniofOxford) December 1, 2025
The winning term topped two other finalists, “aura farming” and “biohack,” after more than 30,000 people voted between Nov.
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