Concept creep

Etymology

Psychologist Nick Haslam coined the term in a 2016 paper, describing how harm-related concepts undergo “horizontal” creep (spreading to new kinds of cases) and “vertical” creep (applying to less severe ones). “Creep” here borrows the engineering sense of slow, cumulative drift.

noun phrase · /KON-sept kreep/
The gradual expansion of a concept’s meaning to cover milder or broader cases than it originally did.
What it names
Names how words like “trauma,” “abuse,” or “harm” stretch over time to include experiences once considered ordinary.
Example
When “bullying” comes to include a single rude remark, that is concept creep at work.
Related idea
Concept creep is the broadening of a category; the euphemism treadmill runs the other way, as gentle terms keep acquiring the stigma of what they name, forcing new replacements.