adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   One-sided (especially of a relationship, as for example that between a celebrity and their audience or fans, whom they do not know). not-comparable

   "a parasocial relationship"

Example

More examples

"Cancel culture is interpersonal, not parasocial. It has nothing to do with celebrities."

Etymology

From para- + social, coined by American sociologist Richard Wohl and Donald Horton in 1956.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.