If 2025 taught us anything, it's that modern romance now comes with its own ever-evolving glossary. The dating world didn't just give us new love languages - it handed us a whole dictionary. From rebranded red flags to hyper-specific behaviours, young singles spent the year naming, decoding, and sometimes mocking the patterns shaping their love lives.
As we wrap up the year, here's a look back at the dating terms that defined 2025 - the ones that made us laugh, nod knowingly, or question humanity just a little.
Zip-Coding
In an era of endless scrolling and long-distance "maybes," one trend encouraged people to look close - literally. Zip-coding became the rule of thumb for singles who preferred dating strictly within their own neighbourhood or postal code.
The logic was simple: fewer logistics, more consistency, and a better chance at building something real without hours of travel or scheduling acrobatics.
Chatfishing
If catfishing involved fake identities, its 2025 cousin involved fake conversations. Chatfishing refers to the growing number of people outsourcing their romantic texting to AI tools like ChatGPT or Wingman AI.
Instead of thinking through responses, they'd screenshot their chats, feed them into an app, and send the polished answer back to their partner. The intention? To sound witty, flirty, and emotionally attuned - without doing the heavy lifting themselves.
Shrekking
Inspired by the idea of dating "down," Shrekking described what happens when someone chooses a partner they believe is beneath their standards, assuming this power imbalance will protect them from heartbreak.
The twist? Many ended up "getting Shrekked" - rejected or blindsided by the very person they underestimated. A perfect reminder that attraction doesn't follow ego's rules.
Bio-Baiting
Not quite catfishing, not quite honesty: bio-baiting sat comfortably in the grey zone. It referred to people writing hyper-idealised dating profiles that exaggerated their lifestyle.
Think: self-proclaimed adventurers whose last trek was years ago, "book lovers" who read half a novel annually, or "passionate cooks" whose specialty is ordering in. The identity wasn't fake, just extremely curated - an aspirational version of themselves doing the heavy lifting online.
Date Till You Hate
One of the internet's most controversial resurgences was the "date them till you hate them" philosophy. Rather than walking away at the first signs of incompatibility, this trend encouraged people to mentally check out, let resentment build, and stay until the emotional detachment became strong enough to make the breakup painless.
The method raised eyebrows for normalising emotional withdrawal instead of healthy communication - but it definitely got people talking about how relationships end.
Clear Coding
With so much confusion clogging the dating scene, 2025 also saw a refreshing counter-movement. Clear coding was the antidote to mixed signals: a trend where singles began stating their intentions upfront.
No more decoding emojis or guessing commitment levels. Whether someone wanted a serious relationship, a casual fling, or something in between, clear-coding meant saying it without ambiguity. Backed by survey numbers showing that emotional honesty and transparency now top the dating wish list, this trend marked one of the healthiest shifts of the year.
Monkey-Barring
Named after the playground habit of swinging from one bar to the next without ever letting go, monkey-barring described the act of staying with a current partner until emotional security with a new person is established.
It reflected a deep fear of vulnerability and an unwillingness to sit alone with uncertainty. The behaviour drew attention to the ethics of transition relationships and the emotional toll they create.
Banksying
If ghosting was abrupt, Banksying was strategic. Instead of disappearing overnight, the person slowly withdrew affection, communication, and emotional presence - sometimes over months - while maintaining a facade of normalcy.
The partner was left confused, second-guessing, and emotionally drained as the connection dissolved in slow motion. It was the year's most insidious breakup trend, putting a spotlight on the harm caused by avoidance and passive detachment.
Now, as we get ready to step into 2026, one thing's certain: the dictionary of modern love is far from complete.