limerence

noun

lim·​er·​ence ˈli-m(ə-)rən(t)s 

variants or less commonly limerance

1

: a state of blissful usually temporary infatuation experienced during the early period of a romantic relationship : the euphoric feeling experienced when first falling in love

This is the crazy love phase known by psychologists as limerence: your heart palpitates, your palms sweat and your pupils dilate …

—Catherine Armitage

Limerance is that first stage of mad attraction where all the hormones are flowing and things feel so right.

—Miriam Stoppard

2

: a state of intense often involuntary romantic attachment to a person who does not reciprocate the feelings and that is often characterized by excessive preoccupation and obsessive behaviors

The involuntary nature of the connection is key: The experience of limerence is similar to addiction and other compulsive behaviors. … You're consumed by your feelings for another person, whether you like it or not.

—Cleveland Clinic

The main difference between falling in limerence and in love? Love requires a real, meaningful connection with another person, while limerence is usually obsessive and one-sided.

—Lilly Blomquist

Examples of limerence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The arousal, reward, and bonding systems that produce the ecstatic connection of limerence are also central to the development of addiction. —Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026

Together, uncertainty and hope keep limerence alive, as experimental psychologist Dorothy Tennov, PhD, explained in her seminal work, Love and Limerence. —Amanda McCracken, SELF, 3 Feb. 2026

This is known as limerence, a romantic infatuation characterized by extreme emotional highs and lows. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025

Bellamy, an author and academic based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, talks to Life Kit about how to identify limerence and break its cycle. —Marielle Segarra, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

limer-, alleged to be an arbitrary formation by the coiner of the word + -ence

Note: The word was coined by the American psychologist Dorothy Tennov (1928-2007). In an article in The Observer (September 11, 1977, p. 3/9) she made the following statement regarding the origin of limerence: "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."

First Known Use

1977, in the meaning defined at sense 1