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A word for having trouble distinguishing between friendship and romance

English Language & Usage Asked by UnaccountablyInfiniteQuestions on February 17, 2021

I need a word for a person is, or the act of being, incapable of distinguishing between romantic partners and friends. Or someone who feels the same about friends as they do about romantic partners.
I read an article or something a while back about words for things that you have trouble explaining and I can’t remember what this word was, and now I can’t find it anywhere. :0

Any suggestions?
Thanks

—edit—

Specifically, a person who experiences romantic attraction to their friends. (Although I don’t know if this would be part of the definition, or my interpretation of the definition.)

Also, it may be helpful to note that by “romantic attraction”, I do not mean “sexual attraction”. I intend to imply the idea of platonic romance, although I doubt the idea would expressly exclude cases in which sexual attraction are present.

5 Answers

This is a coinage but seems to fit:

"omni-intimate"

which can be defined in parts as "all; of all things ; in all ways or places + intimate". The word "intimate" stands for the core feelings of romance and romantic bonding, according to the way you have characterized it. "Omni-" also implies that nothing or no one is excluded, i.e. open equally in all directions.

Answered by MrMeritology on February 17, 2021

Patroclization-or maybe Patroclean (adj.)-Describes ambiguity of friendship and romantic relationship with one person. Derived from Achilles ambiguous relationship with Patroclus whose death in the Trojan War brings Achilles back to the battle for revenge. I've seen this word 'Patroclization' used in newspaper headlines, but not in any dictionary.

Answered by user3847 on February 17, 2021

The person ...

tends to get the wrong idea.

is tone-deaf in relationships.

is not good at picking up social cues.

confuses friendship with romantic intentions.

always assumes you want more.

turns everything into a date (works best if the person is female).

is a little creepy (works best if the person is male).

is too touchy feely (works best if the person is a male).

is over-familiar.

Answered by aparente001 on February 17, 2021

In asexual communities, people who cannot tell the difference between feelings of romance and friendship are described as WTFromantic. The term was originally coined in jest, but has since gained traction and earned an entry on the AVEN wiki.

So I threw my hands up, said, “ ... I’m WTFromantic” more or less as a combination joke and snide remark. And to my surprise people seemed to like the word and people started using it. I can’t speak to where it’s gone from there, but when I came up with it I intended to imply a frustration and a confusion with the essential concept of romantic orientation.

Sciatrix, Writing From Factor X

Less vulgar alternatives include whatromantic, or quoiromantic (quoi, French for what).

Answered by approxiblue on February 17, 2021

I think the phrase you're looking for is that this person experiences alterous attraction. Alterous attraction is generally when someone is okay with being friends with another person but completely wouldn't mind starting a romantic relationship either. It can cause a lot of confusion over whether one is experiencing platonic or romantic attraction, when in reality the person is experiencing both simultaneously.

Answered by user409169 on February 17, 2021

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