Confused about whether you got cookie jarred or cuffed? Well, Gen Z has a term for every twist in the dating game — just ‘ghosting’ or ‘situationship’ aren’t the norm anymore.
Enter the Gen Z lovers’ lexicon — where there’s mystery in vocabulary besides the romance you root for. If you feel ancient, fear not. We are sure that you have lived these experiences, just without knowing there’s a word for them. Here are some fresh terms out of the dating dictionary, so you can keep up with Z times.
Chameleoning
Have you ever changed yourself for your partner? Then you have most certainly undergone chameleoning. It’s a term used for changing your personality, interests, or behaviour to match your partner’s preferences — often subconsciously — to fit better and be liked more.
Example: She used to hate horror movies, but now she’s bingeing them with him every night. She’s even listening to his favourite band and playing video games. Her friends say she’s totally chameleoning.
Cookie jarring
Used for a person who keeps someone as a backup option, while simultaneously dating others. Think of having a cookie in a jar — you give them just enough morsels of attention so they don’t leave you entirely.
Example: He’d send her late-night texts and act all flirty, but never made plans that worked. Turned out, he was just cookie jarring her.
Nanoship
A mini, no-strings attached romantic fling lacking any real commitment or expectation, full of emotional highs, but often dissolving almost as quickly as it began. Nanoships can pop up anywhere and everywhere — be it at a party, club, wedding or even during your daily commute to the office.
Example: They met at a weekend music festival, kissed under the stars, exchanged 17 texts and never spoke again. Classic nanoship!
Loudlooking
Ditch your “I’m just going with the flow” or “let’s see where it goes” — the new Gen Z word ‘loudlooking’ is in town. Coined by Tinder, the term is very simple: being upfront and frank about what you’re looking for in a relationship. Too soon to get committed? Spill it out. Not looking for anything casual? Just let them know. Loudlooking is basically what people used to do before dating apps took over. Don’t you think our parents were the OG loudlookers?
Example: On their first date, she said, “I’m not here to mess around. I want a real relationship.” She truly believes in loudlooking.
Cuffing
This is a word used when someone gets into a short-lived relationship during the colder months of the year, knowing that it will end when summer arrives (like “cuffing season” during colder months). It’s more about convenience than chemistry.
Example: He popped up right when hoodie weather began and vanished by spring. Yep, she got cuffed for the winter.
Freckling
Opposite of cuffing, freckling is for the warm-blooded. When someone enters into a serious relationship during the summer, and ends it before winter falls.
Example: They were inseparable all summer. Beach dates together to iced latte runs, you name it. Then came October and she broke up. He got freckled.
Benching
No, they’re not ghosting you. You’re just being kept “on the bench” while they date other people. You’re a Plan B kept on the back burner while your partner explores other relationships.
Example: He replied with “Let’s hang soon!” every time she asked to meet, but it never happened. She finally realised she was being benched.
Breadcrumbing
Dropping crumbs of attention enough to keep someone hooked to the relationship without any intention of taking things up a notch. You can think of it as an emotional clickbait.
Example: Heart emojis. Fire reacts. Random “hey you” texts. But no meetups, no true emotions. Pure breadcrumbing.
Delusionship
Getting all the vibes and daydreams? Worry not. You’re just delulu, and it’s all in your head. We get so serious with building our castles in the air that Gen Z has a term for it — delusionship. It’s used to describe an entirely one-sided relationship in your imagination.
Example: She analysed every single one of his emojis and believed he was the one. But they never even dated. Total delusionship.
Kittenfishing
While catfishing is for the OG, there’s now a less intense version of it. Enter kittenfishing — a term for someone misrepresenting themselves on dating apps with smaller lies, like using old photos or slightly exaggerating their qualities. Equally misleading, just more harmless.
Example: His profile said 6'2", gym-enthusiast, and dog lover. When I met him, he was 5'9", allergic to dogs, and hadn't even worked out since 2019. Talk about kittenfishing.
Cushioning
Backups and more backups — ‘cushioning’ is when you maintain flirtatious connections with multiple people just in case your main relationship ends. It’s like having emotional cushions to fall back upon if you go through a breakup.
Example: Every time they fought, she’d DM the ones she would defend as “just friends”. It wasn’t cheating…yet. She was just cushioning.