SITUATIONSHIP (Dating Term)

What Does Situationship Mean in a Text?

The Growing Glossary of Dating Slang

If you're new to online dating, then I'm afraid there is whole new language with well over 250 terms for you to learn.

Particularly since the rise of the iKids, people have been far more open about their sexual preferences and desires, and this has generated a long glossary of new dating terms. Many sexual preferences are still abbreviated on dating sites, presumably with the idea that those who do not understand the term do not need to know it. That thinking does not help newcomers though. Here is the term you're looking for:

Situationship means "Undefined Romantic Relationship."

More Observations...

A situationship is a relationship that is undefined or not clearly defined in terms of commitment, exclusivity, or expectations, but may include romantic or sexual involvement. Unlike friends with benefits (FWB), which refers to a relationship where two individuals who are friends also engage in sexual activity without being in a romantic relationship, a situationship may involve romantic feelings or expectations, but lack clear commitment or exclusivity and not have a long-term time horizon. Not everyone who is in a situationship is necessarily where they want to be romantically. Singer and Tiktoker Savanna Leigh has an entertaining take on situationships:

@savannaleighofficial the girls that get it, get it🙃🙃 #fyp #situationship #singersongwriter #independentartist #originalsong ♬ head games - Savanna Leigh

Image for Situationship

When I write Situationship, I mean this:

"Undefined Romantic Relationship"

Summary of Key Points

"Undefined Romantic Relationship" is the most common definition for Situationship on online dating sites, such as Craigslist, Tinder, Zoosk, and Match.com, as well as on social media sites such as TikTok.

Situationship
Definition:	Undefined Romantic Relationship
Type:	Word
Guessability:	3: Guessable
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

Examples of Situationship in Sentences

Here are examples of situationship in conversations:

Toni: Are you and Sam getting serious now?
Jo: No, it's just a situationship. I'm going home at the end of this semester and Sam's staying here, so there's no point in getting too serious about things.

Lee: Can I meet your parents soon.
Ali: Oh Lee, we don't need to do all that. You know that this is a situationship for us. Let's not complicate things.

An Academic Look at Situationship

As it is formed by merging two words into one, situationship is a portmanteau word. It is a combination of the words situation and (relation)ship. Situationship is also a neologism, i.e., a newly coined term or expression that has not yet become widely used or recognized in a particular language or culture. Neologisms are often created to describe a new concept, idea, or phenomenon, and can be:

A new meaning for an existing word (e.g., mood, sick).
A completely new word (e.g., oversharers).
A new combination of existing words (e.g., digital detox, situationship).

Some neologisms are formally accepted into mainstream language (at which point, they cease to be neologisms), and some wither until they can longer be considered everyday terms.