limerence en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈlɪməɹəns/ (UK)
Etymology
From limer- (“a coined, arbitrary first element”) + -ence. Coined by American psychologist Dorothy Tennov in 1977 as an arbitrary euphonious replacement or alteration of the word amorance.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) An involuntary romantic infatuation with another person, especially combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated.
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.
[1977 September 11, Dorothy Tennov, The Observer: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.
2024 January 27, Amanda McCracken, “Is It a Crush or Have You Fallen Into Limerence?”, in The New York Times:But limerence, lovely as it feels, is a time-limited event—it lasts about five years for most couples.
2010, Alyson Schafer, Breaking the Good mom Myth:When someone is under the spell of limerence, not even being rejected dampens down the madness.
2003 December 14, Andrew G Marshall, “That crazy little thing called love”, in The Observer:I hadn't had much interest in limerence until I developed limerence when I didn't want to, when I was happily married.
2025 September 20, Marielle Segarra, Clare Marie Schneider, Malaka Gharib, quoting Tom Bellamy, “A neuroscientist explains how to break free from romantic infatuation”, in NPR, archived from the original on 20 Sep 2025:“[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 …
2025 November 29, Nicole Madigan, quoting Sam Shpall, “‘Desire in one of its rawest forms’: what do we know about limerence?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| limerences | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| limerance | alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Coordinates
Deriveds
Hypernyms
infatuation · besottedness · enamorment · enamourment · love
Hyponyms
Meronyms
obsession · dependence · parasociality
Translations (39)
cmn 一往情深 (state of mind) · sh limerencija (state of mind) · tl pagkahibang (state of mind) · cmn 濃情蜜意 /浓情蜜意 (state of mind) · cmn 情深不移 (state of mind) · de Verliebtheit (state of mind) · it limerence (state of mind) · cmn 情深似海 (state of mind) · it ultrattaccamento (state of mind) · da forelskelse (state of mind) · cmn 情深意切 (state of mind) · cmn 傾心戀慕 /倾心恋慕 (state of mind) · fr limerence (state of mind) · pt limerence (state of mind) · es limerencia (state of mind) · nl verliefdheid (state of mind) · cmn 情深意重 (state of mind) · eo enamiĝinteco (state of mind) · cmn 傾心痴戀 /倾心痴恋 (state of mind) · sv förälskelse (state of mind) · cmn 情真意摯 /情真意挚 (state of mind) · cmn 情真意切 (state of mind) · pt enfatuação (state of mind) · cmn 情濃難斷 /情浓难断 (state of mind) · ko 리머런스 (state of mind) · cmn 情不自勝 /情不自胜 (state of mind) · mk вљу́беност (state of mind) · cmn 情真愛深 /情真爱深 (state of mind) · cmn 傾心愛慕 /倾心爱慕 (state of mind) · de Limerenz (state of mind) · cmn 深情厚意 (state of mind) · tl pagkahumaling (state of mind) · ru влюблённость (state of mind) · es infatuación (state of mind) · fr limérence (state of mind) · fr limérance (state of mind) · cmn 深情癡戀 /深情痴恋 (state of mind) · cmn 痴心深情 (state of mind) · cmn 情難自禁 /情难自禁 (state of mind)