An intense, obsessive infatuation characterized by intrusive thoughts, heightened longing for reciprocation, and a tendency to read signs everywhere. Love experienced as fixation and suspense rather than settled attachment (psychological; modern). Not primarily about knowing another person, but about needing an answer.

A modern coinage in psychological writing, formed on a Latinate pattern to name a recognizable state that lacked a widely accepted term. It differentiates a stormy early intensity from the steadier weather of love.