unrequited love
Affection without reciprocation
Unrequited love is love that is not returned or reciprocated.
The term typically describes romantic feelings directed toward someone who doesn't share them—whether unaware, indifferent, or unwilling: He spent years nursing an unrequited love for his best friend's sister.
The condition is a staple of literature and popular music.
Short-lived intense attraction
- crushCompress with force
- limerenceObsessive romantic preoccupation
- smittenPowerfully attracted to someone
- enamoredFilled with ardent affection
besotted · adoration · captivated · enthralled · enchantment · moonstruck · charmed · fascination
Aching with prolonged desire
- longingIntense, persistent desire
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
- heartacheDeep emotional distress
- anguishIntense mental suffering
melancholy · sorrow · despair · torment · wistful · forlorn · dejection · suffering
Rejected with contempt
- unreturnedNot given back
- unreciprocatedNot given back
- one-sidedUnfairly weighted toward one
- unattainableImpossible to acquire
rebuffed · dismissed · ignored · overlooked · friendzoned · hopeless · impossible · forbidden
infatuation
Short-lived intense attraction
- crushCompress with force
- limerenceObsessive romantic preoccupation
- smittenPowerfully attracted to someone
enamored · besotted · adoration · captivated · enthralled · enchantment · moonstruck · charmed · fascination · fixation
pining
Aching with prolonged desire
anguish · melancholy · sorrow · despair · torment · wistful · forlorn · dejection · suffering · grief
spurned
Rejected with contempt
- unreturnedNot given back
- unreciprocatedNot given back
- one-sidedUnfairly weighted toward one
unattainable · rebuffed · dismissed · ignored · overlooked · friendzoned · hopeless · impossible · forbidden · star-crossed
confession
Admission of wrongdoing
serenade · gesture · token · gift · declaration · daydream · fantasy · vigil · waiting · hoping
Cyrano
Lovesick poet-fighter with prominent proboscis
- SnapeEnglish surname, Suffolk locale
- troubadourMedieval Provençal lyric poet
- PetrarchMedieval Italian lyric poet
- love poemslove poem, love sonnet, love ballad, love letter poem, aubade
- loveadoration, affection, amour, attraction, beloved
- romancelove story, amor, love, boyfriend, courting
- Classic RomancePride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Emma, Romeo and Juliet
- drama themesrevenge, betrayal, forbidden love, love triangle, family conflict
- emotional tropestragedy, romance, drama, love story, tearjerker
unrequited loveindifference
Lack of interest
apathy · emotional detachment · lovelessness · disinterest · coldness