Definition of "limerence" [limerence]

• An involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction for another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated. (noun)

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• "What's particularly interesting about limerence is its etymology, or lack thereof, as explained in this quote from Dorothy Tennov, the word's inventor:1977 Observer 11 Sept. 3/9, I first used the term ‘amorance' then changed it back to ‘limerence'..."
• "This doesn't mean he won't fool around with men when it's socially demanded, or when it's convenient, because let's face it, he's an eighteen-year-old man in a homosocial society and honey, any port in a storm (so to speak) -- but to me at least it's pretty obvious that all his limerence is directed at women."
• "She coined limerence to describe this state, and wrote in The Observer in 1977 that the word was entirely her own."