Understanding romantic orientations can provide valuable insights into the diverse ways individuals experience romantic attraction. This list highlights various romantic orientations, each with unique characteristics and definitions. By exploring these orientations, one can appreciate the complexity and fluidity of romantic attraction, acknowledging that it varies widely from person to person. Whether it is being attracted to kindness, intelligence, or specific gender presentations, romantic orientations encompass a broad spectrum of experiences and identities. Here is a brief overview of some common and less-known romantic orientations.
Abroromantic
Colloquially known as Romantically Fluid, Abroromantic individuals experience their romantic orientation as fluid and/or changing over time. For example, an abroromantic person may find themself romantically attracted to men one week and then to women or nonbinary people the next, or their attraction may change in intensity. The equivalent word for fluid sexuality is Abrosexual.
The prefix “abro-” is from the Greek habrós, which means “delicate” or “graceful.” This prefix is used to symbolize the changing nature and ‘movement’ of abroromantic people.
Aromantic
Having little to no romantic attraction and/or desire for romantic relationships. Aromanticism is a spectrum representing a diversity of experiences, and aromantic (aro) people can have differing attitudes toward and comfort levels with romance. The aromantic spectrum (arospec) also includes people who experience romantic attraction only rarely, weakly, or under certain circumstances. They may identify with the term greyromantic or with other, more specific arospec identities.
Benignoromantic
Romantic attraction to kindness. This may include kind people or acts of kindness.
Biromantic
Usually refers to a person who is romantically attracted to people of more than one sex or gender, not necessarily at the same time, in the same way, or to the same degree.
Demiromantic
Usually refers to a person who does not experience romantic attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with the person first.
Finromantic
Romantic attraction to femininity, not necessarily women.
Frayromantic
Romantic attraction towards someone that you are not deeply connected to. For example, one might be romantically attracted to someone new in a friend group. For a frayromantic person the attraction typically goes away or lessens as they grow closer to the person. This is essentially the opposite of demiromantic.
Grayromantic
Usually refers to a person who experiences romantic attraction under very limited and specific circumstances. It can also refer to someone who is unsure if they feel romantic attraction or someone who is unsure of where the line is between romantic and non-romantic attraction.
Gyneromantic
Gyneromantic, or gynoromantic, describes a person who is romantically attracted to women, females, and/or femininity in varying forms, including individuals who present femininely or express feminine characteristics and who may, or may not, identify as female.
Heteroromantic
Usually refers to a person who is romantically attracted to someone of the opposite sex or a different gender to their own.
Homoromantic
Usually refers to a person who is romantically attracted to someone of the same sex or gender.
Minromantic
Romantic attraction to those masculine in nature. This does not always mean men.
Monoromantic
An umbrella term which describes romantic attraction to one gender.
Noetiromantic
Attraction based on the subject’s capacity for and exemplification of intellect.
Noetics comes from the Greek verb ‘noetikos’ meaning ‘intellect.’ This is in comparison / contrast to ‘sapience,’ which comes from the Latin verb ‘sapere,’ the word for ‘wise.’
Omniromantic
Romantic attraction to all genders, sometimes with a preference towards specific genders.
Panromantic
Usually refers to a person who can be romantically attracted to a person regardless of their sex or gender.
Polyromantic
Usually refers to a person who is romantically attracted to multiple, but not all genders.
Romantically Fluid
A person who is romantically fluid, also known as abroromantic, experiences changes in their romantic orientation over time. For example, a romantically fluid person might experience interested in romantic involvement with men for a few months, women for a few weeks, and then not romantically attracted to anyone for several years. Someone who is romantically fluid and polyamorous may experience periods of different levels of polysaturation.
Sapioromantic
Describes a romantic preference in which a person experiences a greater level of romantic attraction towards intelligence as opposed to any other quality/feature.
Note that the prefix ‘sapio’ stems from the Latin verb for ‘wisdom’. Compare and contrast ‘Noetiromantic,’ whose prefix ‘noeti’ stems from the Greek verb for ‘intellect.’