Love bombing
Meaning: Overwhelming someone with excessive affection, attention, and gifts early in a relationship to gain control.
Love bombing involves showering someone with constant texts, extravagant gestures, declarations of love, and intense attention very early on. While it can feel wonderful at first, it's often recognized as a manipulation tactic. Once the person is emotionally invested, the love bomber may become controlling or withdraw affection. It's frequently discussed in the context of toxic relationships and narcissism.
Examples
- He was love bombing me in the first week — flowers, constant texts, talking about our future. 第一周他就对我love bombing了——送花、不停发消息、谈论我们的未来。Me hizo love bombing la primera semana — flores, mensajes constantes, hablando de nuestro futuro.最初の1週間で彼にラブボミングされた——花束、ひっきりなしのメッセージ、将来の話。첫 주부터 러브바밍을 당했어 — 꽃다발, 끊임없는 문자, 우리 미래 이야기.
- Be careful, that much attention that early could be love bombing. 小心点,这么早就给这么多关注可能是love bombing。Ten cuidado, tanta atención tan pronto podría ser love bombing.気をつけて、こんな早い段階でそこまでの注目はラブボミングかもしれないよ。조심해, 이렇게 초반부터 과한 관심은 러브바밍일 수 있어.
- She realized the love bombing was a red flag when his behavior completely changed after a month. 一个月后他的态度完全变了,她才意识到love bombing是个危险信号。Se dio cuenta de que el love bombing era una señal de alarma cuando su comportamiento cambió por completo al cabo de un mes.1ヶ月後に彼の態度が完全に変わった時、ラブボミングが危険信号だったと気づいた。한 달 후 그의 태도가 완전히 달라졌을 때, 러브바밍이 위험 신호였다는 걸 깨달았다.
Pronunciation
Usage Guide
Context: dating, relationship advice, psychology, social media
Tone: cautionary, concerned
✓ Do Say
- That sounds like love bombing to me.听起来像是love bombing。Eso me suena a love bombing.それはラブボミングだと思うよ。그건 러브바밍처럼 들리는데.
- I think I'm being love bombed.我觉得我正在被love bomb。Creo que me están haciendo love bombing.ラブボミングされてる気がする。나 러브바밍 당하고 있는 것 같아.
✗ Don't Say
- Don't use for genuinely enthusiastic partners — love bombing implies manipulative intent, not just being romantic不要用在真心热情的伴侣身上——love bombing暗示操控意图,而不仅仅是浪漫No lo uses para parejas genuinamente entusiastas — el love bombing implica intención manipuladora, no simplemente ser romántico純粋に情熱的なパートナーには使わない——ラブボミングは単にロマンチックなのではなく、操作的な意図を暗示する진심으로 열정적인 상대에게는 사용하지 말 것 — 러브바밍은 단순히 로맨틱한 것이 아니라 조종 의도를 암시함
Origin & History
Originally used in psychology to describe cult recruitment tactics. The term entered dating vocabulary in the 2010s through relationship advice content and became widely known through social media discussions about toxic relationship patterns.
Cultural Context
Era: 2010s onwards
Generation: Millennials, Gen Z
Social background: Universal
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