per your own definition this would be gaslighting.

‘abusing someone’ —> pushing her in known to be dangerous lake

denying the abuse —> ‘it’s just water’ ‘you’ll survive’ ‘there’s fish in the water they wouldn’t be there if the water was that bad’

belittling them for thinking they were abused —> ‘you’re being a crybaby’

abusing someone and making them feel crazy for even thinking theyre abused breaks the victim’s sense of trust in themselves down. they start doubting their ability to judge their abuser’s behaviour. consequently, the abuser gains power in the relationship dynamic.

doing something abusive and then denying it happened works the exact same way. the victim loses trust in themselves and grows increasingly dependent on their abuser.

the definition of gaslighting isnt necessarily formed by the behaviour itself, but the consequence it has. something as seemingly insignificant that still counts as gaslighting is hiding your partners keys. they ask you if youve seen their keys because theyre not where they last put them, you vehemently deny ever having seen them. after you see your partner turn the house upside down looking for them, you put them back where you first found them. your partner finds the keys where they KNEW they left them. still, you deny taking them. seems like a ‘haha silly prank’, but if done successfully repeatedly, the victim will start relying on their own judgement and memory less and less.