as in romance
the series of social engagements shared by a couple looking to get married
their dating had been going on for so long that she was starting to wonder if she'd ever take that trip down the aisle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in accompanying
to go on a social engagement with
I don't want to date him—I'd rather just be friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in courting
to go on dates that may eventually lead to marriage
we dated for two years before we got engaged
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of dating
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 27 Jan. 2026
Transforming the Human Touch Beyond fraud, dating, academics, and email writing, a subtler form of the AI intermediary is popping up in offices around the world.
—Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Hot take dating has also become more common as online dating becomes the primary form for meeting potential partners.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
And in a 2020 Pew Research Center poll, a majority of women said that dating had gotten harder in the past 10 years; 65 percent said they’d been harassed on a date.
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026
The Common Council's statement also advises people to be aware of other scams associated with online dating, like identity theft, catfishing and monetary scams.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 15 Jan. 2026
On a separate note, the stars are aligning for online dating, turning an acquaintance into a lover or asking people for favors.
—Kyle Thomas, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026
Your books are extremely popular, but there’s a widespread cultural POV right now where people are saying heterosexual dating is terrible.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 8 Jan. 2026
Yet the implicit presence of ‘The Whitsun Weddings,’ the precise dating of István’s wall-punching to the Pentecost weekend—these things tell us that while the prose may be on starvation rations, the novel itself is not.
—Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026
Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
Izaya Igaki and William Tsukamoto were two of the ten men on the Netflix dating show who were placed in Hokkaido to run a coffee truck together, while also pursuing romantic endeavors.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 28 Jan. 2026
The fraudsters would contact American victims through social media, texts, or online dating platforms to get people’s trust.
—Carlos Garcia, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
My question is about dating among older adults.
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
Beer’s career has aligned well with the dominant aesthetics and industry priorities of the past decade and a half, dating to her first signing at age 13.
—Grace Robins-Somerville, Pitchfork, 27 Jan. 2026
Dax Shepard should leave the dating advice to Cher.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2026
After Entertainment Tonight was the first to report that Hadid and Banuelos had gone their separate ways, a source confirmed to PEOPLE in January 2026 that the two had broken up after more than two years of dating.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026
After the couple broke up in 2006, Bilson began dating Christensen while Brody eventually married Gossip Girl alum Leighton Meester.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 21 Jan. 2026
Noun
Synch’s bet is that by pairing a coach like Lily with deeper compatibility modeling, online dating can start to feel closer to a thoughtful, real‑world introduction than an endless catalog of faces.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 27 Jan. 2026
Transforming the Human Touch Beyond fraud, dating, academics, and email writing, a subtler form of the AI intermediary is popping up in offices around the world.
—Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Hot take dating has also become more common as online dating becomes the primary form for meeting potential partners.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
And in a 2020 Pew Research Center poll, a majority of women said that dating had gotten harder in the past 10 years; 65 percent said they’d been harassed on a date.
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026
The Common Council's statement also advises people to be aware of other scams associated with online dating, like identity theft, catfishing and monetary scams.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 15 Jan. 2026
On a separate note, the stars are aligning for online dating, turning an acquaintance into a lover or asking people for favors.
—Kyle Thomas, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026
Your books are extremely popular, but there’s a widespread cultural POV right now where people are saying heterosexual dating is terrible.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 8 Jan. 2026
Yet the implicit presence of ‘The Whitsun Weddings,’ the precise dating of István’s wall-punching to the Pentecost weekend—these things tell us that while the prose may be on starvation rations, the novel itself is not.
—Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026
Verb
Now in Season 3, the central therapist character has new obstacles to face with the coming high school graduation of his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) and pushes from his mentor and boss Paul Rhoades (Harrison Ford) to get back out there in the dating scene.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
Izaya Igaki and William Tsukamoto were two of the ten men on the Netflix dating show who were placed in Hokkaido to run a coffee truck together, while also pursuing romantic endeavors.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 28 Jan. 2026
The fraudsters would contact American victims through social media, texts, or online dating platforms to get people’s trust.
—Carlos Garcia, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
My question is about dating among older adults.
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
Beer’s career has aligned well with the dominant aesthetics and industry priorities of the past decade and a half, dating to her first signing at age 13.
—Grace Robins-Somerville, Pitchfork, 27 Jan. 2026
Dax Shepard should leave the dating advice to Cher.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2026
After Entertainment Tonight was the first to report that Hadid and Banuelos had gone their separate ways, a source confirmed to PEOPLE in January 2026 that the two had broken up after more than two years of dating.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026
After the couple broke up in 2006, Bilson began dating Christensen while Brody eventually married Gossip Girl alum Leighton Meester.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dating
Noun
-
Actually looking for the romance category as a category that’s been underrepresented, both in streaming and just kind of broadly in our eyes.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Yet in Season 3 of the show, Theo didn’t appear at all, suggesting that Eloise’s romance in the show may go back to following the books.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Endeavour gold is segregated from other sources, refined, and sent to the Bettses’ refinery and other casting houses—stamped with a serial number and accompanying QR code for verification.—
Jill Newman,
Robb Report,
1 Feb. 2026
-
The grounds are now open to visitors, who can explore the estate’s garden, stable yard, nearby nature paths and accompanying restaurant.—
Kayla Keegan,
PEOPLE,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
All's fair in love and war — an idiom that Cressida (second from left, played by Jessica Madsen) and her meddling mama would do well to remember while courting the Prince!—
Sophie Dodd,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
-
As with many other courting rituals of the Regency era, only a man could ask a woman to dance—not the other way around.—
Emma Banks,
InStyle,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Historically speaking, the era that inspired Julia Quinn to write eight Bridgerton books was governed by countless rules governing courtship.—
Emma Banks,
InStyle,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Their courtship was tender, quiet, subdued—and hardly full of the passion and yearning that Bridgerton has become known for.—
Meg Walters,
Glamour,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The American, who was expected to be one of the biggest stars of the Games, limped into a tent for medical attention before being airlifted away by helicopter, dangling from a hoist cable with two people attending her.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Vonn, who was expected to be one of the biggest stars of the games, limped into a tent for medical attention before being airlifted away by helicopter, dangling from a hoist cable with two people attending her.—
Graham Dunbar,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dating. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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