Benching
Keeping someone on the "bench": just enough attention to keep their interest alive, but never a real date. You stay one option among several.
Dating glossary
Dating terms, explained simply
Ghosting, love bombing, situationship — the language of modern dating changes fast. Here you'll find the most important terms explained clearly, with tips on how to protect yourself.
Breadcrumbing
Scattering "breadcrumbs" — sporadic messages, likes or vague hints that raise hopes without ever leading anywhere. A game of attention with no real intent.
Catfishing
Posing online under a false identity — someone else's photos, an invented name, a fabricated life story. A real conversation usually exposes catfishing at once, because voice and reactions can't be faked.
Spotting romance scams →Cuffing Season
The "cuffing season" from autumn to winter, when the urge for a committed relationship rises and dating apps boom. The seasonal pressure often leads to rushed matches.
Cuffing season 2026 →Cushioning
"Cushioning" yourself: keeping several contacts warm as a backup despite being in a relationship — in case things with the main partner don't work out.
Ghosting
Cutting off contact without any explanation: no more replies, no reason, nothing. Ghosting is one of the most common and painful experiences in online dating.
Dealing with ghosting →Love Bombing
Overwhelming someone with affection in no time — constant messages, big compliments, rushed plans for the future. Often a manipulative pattern that only fakes real closeness.
Love Scamming
Fraud built on faked feelings: a relationship is built over weeks to get to money in the end. Scammers avoid calls and video chats — a conversation up front is the best protection.
Spotting romance scams →Orbiting
Staying in your "orbit" after contact ends: no more messages, but still watching your stories and liking your posts. Present, without being reachable.
Roaching
Hiding that you're seeing several people at once and only admitting it when caught — usually with the excuse that you were "never exclusive" anyway.
Situationship
A relationship without a label: more than friendship, but without commitment or definition. Can be pleasant — or leave one side permanently in the dark.
Zombieing
A ghost returns: someone who vanished without a word gets back in touch weeks later as if nothing happened — "risen from the dead".
Many of these patterns share one thing
They thrive on the fact that you never really talk. A real conversation before the first date — anonymous through the app, no number exchange — exposes most of them in a few minutes.