Meaning of limerence | Babel Free

Definitions

An involuntary romantic infatuation with another person, especially combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated.

countable, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“I first used the term ‘amorance’ then changed it back to ‘limerence’ […]. It has no roots whatsoever. It looks nice. It works well in French. Take it from me it has no etymology whatsoever.”

“When someone is under the spell of limerence, not even being rejected dampens down the madness.”

“But limerence, lovely as it feels, is a time-limited event—it lasts about five years for most couples.”

“Limerence is a state of overwhelming and unexpected longing for emotional reciprocation from another human, known as a limerent object (LO), who is often perceived as perfect but unavailable.”

“I hadn't had much interest in limerence until I developed limerence when I didn't want to, when I was happily married.”

““[Dorothy] Tennov rejected the view that limerence is inherently unhealthy,” he says. “It’s a distinctive form of human longing, transformative and sometimes destabilising, yes, but not necessarily bad …”

CEFR level