What does "pilled" mean in slang?
10/20/25 5:25pm
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In slang, “pilled” means that you’re being convinced a certain (often uncomfortable) truth. For example, you might say, “I’m kind of getting pilled on cold showers,” as a way of saying, “I now believe the people who said that taking cold showers is good for you, even if they’re uncomfortable.”
The term “pilled” originally started out as a reference to The Matrix. The main character in the film, Neo, is given the choice between taking a blue pill and a red pill. If he takes the blue pill, he wakes up in bed and everything he has learned about the world being fake will disappear like a dream, but if he takes the red pill, he joins Morpheus and wakes up in the real world. So, taking the “red pill” was shortened to “pilled.”
Unfortunately, the term was adopted by the “red pill” movement, a far-right misogynistic ideology. Believers hold the view that women have all of the power in society. With the growth of that belief system, “pilled” became a dog whistle for right-wing ideas that you couldn’t say out loud.
Today, some younger people will use “pilled” in an ironic way. They might say, “I’m dog-pilled. They’re so much better than cats,” for example.
What do you think? Is the term too controversial now to use, or is it good to fight hate by reclaiming these kinds of slang terms?
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The term “pilled” originally started out as a reference to The Matrix. The main character in the film, Neo, is given the choice between taking a blue pill and a red pill. If he takes the blue pill, he wakes up in bed and everything he has learned about the world being fake will disappear like a dream, but if he takes the red pill, he joins Morpheus and wakes up in the real world. So, taking the “red pill” was shortened to “pilled.”
Unfortunately, the term was adopted by the “red pill” movement, a far-right misogynistic ideology. Believers hold the view that women have all of the power in society. With the growth of that belief system, “pilled” became a dog whistle for right-wing ideas that you couldn’t say out loud.
Today, some younger people will use “pilled” in an ironic way. They might say, “I’m dog-pilled. They’re so much better than cats,” for example.
What do you think? Is the term too controversial now to use, or is it good to fight hate by reclaiming these kinds of slang terms?
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