Gen Z Dating Terms Currently Ruining Our Peace

As a Gen Z-er, I'm struggling to keep up with the terminology my own generation apparently invented. Coming from someone who is technically in the dating market but conveniently absent from the apps, so I live vicariously through my friends trapped in a vicious Hinge cycle. Every few weeks, I rise from the grave to catch up on the latest tea from the dating pool, only to leave armed with new words like wokefishing, icing, slow fade and whatnot, otherwise known as disappointment, paired with the immense relief of not actually dealing with any of it.

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In my opinion, we’ve managed to make dating entirely lifeless. But at least you learn something new every day, not in a Shakespeare-expanding-your-vocabulary kind of way, but learning nonetheless. So here’s what I’ve collected so far.

Woke Fishing

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Pretending to be woke in order to impress an XYZ person. This has got to be my biggest ick, as if we don’t have enough happening in the world for your partner to be faking his interests to match yours, like bring me a gun already.

Clear Coding

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Just another way to make it clear they are just looking to hit. It means both partners involved are supposed to keep their intentions and expectations in the relationship transparent from the start, so if you are only emotionally available on weekends, maybe let your partner know. Ahh, we have discovered clear communication, well, better late than never.

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Love Loreing

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When they tell you, ‘the idea of a relationship with you is more exciting than actually being in a relationship with you.’ Congratulations, you have been love lore-d.

Daterview

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A date that feels less like hanging out and getting to know each other, and more like an interview. I am all for this. Please come prepared with a resume that doesn’t make you look like a serial dater.

Fizzling

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It’s the same short-lived nanoships where you can feel the spark slowly leave the relationship, but no one is going say anything and eventually you either ghost or get ghosted. Nothing makes the heart grow fonder like a slow fade out.

Icing

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Watching everything that a potential partner is doing, but not really reacting to it or reaching out. Basically, staying updated with their socials but acting unbothered because they got on your nerves instead of communicating.

Cloaking

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Making plans and then not showing up. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a word for the classic, ‘I hope you are hungry…for nothing.’ The concept of this entire behaviour is a little lost on me because you can just keep your trap shut, like, “Why do you want to do more with words when you are incapable of bringing it to action?”

Benching

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The art of treating someone like an option. Don’t we all love it when someone clearly treats us like a standby? We love how dating keeps feeling more like a game.

Contra Dating

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Dating someone who isn’t typically your type, because well, we all know where your usual type is getting you and it's… nowhere. So changing gears and hopping on this trend doesn’t sound like such a bad thing.

Loud Looking

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This is for when you are actively choosing to involve yourself in the mess we call the dating pool of 2026, you entertain options, fish around, seek attention, and obviously avoid commitment completely. I don’t know what’s louder- the search or my disappointment.

Next On Deck

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This one might just be my favourite, it’s not too subtle but also not too out there way of saying, I carry backups the way a baddie carries lip gloss- everywhere and at all times

Love Haze

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Oh, we have all been a part of this. So in love and so hazy that red flags become invisible. You’re on cloud nine, planning a wedding with someone who doesn’t even know where they’ll be tomorrow. Honestly, neither do you. So, come back to planet Earth.

Sneating

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Your honour, sue me as I have committed an irreversible sin. This is for when you are going around on dates just for the free food and possibly a few drinks (?), without any real interest in the other person.

Paper Clipping

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I hold this one a little too close to my heart, and according to my FYP, 569 thousand of you do too. It’s when an ex lingers around just enough to re-enter your life but not to get back with you, rather to keep you hooked for no apparent reason (If I start listing the reasons, this may turn into an essay, so maybe let me save the trauma for another day)

Hot Take Dating

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Relationships where you usually bond over opinions and shared interests, I am not so sure this makes sense, though what if you are getting woke fish-ed.

We have successfully come a full circle with the Gen Z dating terminology 101, and this has been an educational roller coaster for all of us (or not), fun regardless.

At the end of the day, all these terms say less about how creative we are and more about how avoidant we’ve become. Somewhere between defining every micro-behaviour and over-analysing every interaction, dating has turned into a meaningless label-heavy situation, since we aren't getting any real labels, huh, food for thought.

Maybe the real flex isn’t mastering the terminology, but opting out of the chaos altogether—or at the very least, choosing clarity over clever phrasing. Until then, we’ll keep updating our substacks, decoding mixed signals and pretending this is all very normal.