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The Dictionary
Delulu, breadcrumbing, benching, orbiting - the vocabulary of modern dating, defined in plain language. Every term your situationship is secretly an example of.
Delulu · Situationship · Ghosting · Breadcrumbing · Benching · Orbiting · Zombieing · Haunting · Love bombing · Soft launch · Hard launch · Talking stage · Cuffing season · DTR · Beige flag · Ick · Rizz · Simping · Future faking · Cushioning · Paperclipping · Gaslighting
Short for delusional. Holding on to hope about someone the conversation does not support. Usually said with affection, right up until the group chat stages an intervention. Read more →
A romantic connection that refuses to define itself. More than friends, less than official, and allergic to labels.
Ending all communication with no explanation and no warning. One day there are plans, the next there is silence. Read more →
Sending just enough attention, sporadic texts, the occasional miss you, to keep someone interested with no intention of going anywhere. Read more →
Keeping someone as a backup: enough contact to keep them around, never enough to move forward, while you keep your options open.
They stopped replying but still watch every story and like every post. Gone from your inbox, present in your notifications.
When someone who ghosted you reappears out of nowhere, acting as though nothing happened.
The quieter cousin of zombieing: an ex or a fade who lurks on your socials without ever messaging.
Overwhelming someone with affection and grand gestures early on to fast-track intimacy and influence. Intensity standing in for interest.
Hinting at a new relationship online without revealing who it is: a hand in a photo, a second coffee cup, a cropped shoulder.
Officially revealing your relationship online, face and all.
The ambiguous early phase of texting and getting to know someone before anything is defined. Can last days. Can last, regrettably, months. Read more →
The colder months when people suddenly want to be coupled up. Interest in situationships spikes in autumn and cools after February.
Define the relationship: the conversation where you find out whether you are on the same page or in entirely different books.
A trait that is neither a red flag nor a green flag, just oddly boring or mildly strange. Not a dealbreaker, just a pause.
The sudden, often irrational moment of repulsion that turns attraction off like a switch.
Charisma in the context of flirting: the ability to attract or charm someone through conversation. Read more →
Doing too much for someone who gives back too little. Over-investing, out loud.
Making promises about a shared future, trips, plans, milestones, with no intention of following through, to keep someone invested now.
Keeping a few backup flirtations going while in a relationship or situationship, to soften a potential breakup.
Someone resurfacing just often enough to reset your interest, then disappearing again.
Manipulating someone into doubting their own memory or read of events. A serious red flag, not a quirk.
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