Polyamory Glossary

A Person Who Can Be Fulfilled In Either Monogamous Or Consensually Non-monogamous Relationships.

A Deeply Established Partner Who Provides Continuity, Stability And Long-term Connection; The Term Does Not Inherently Require Hierarchy.

A Person Who Experiences Little Or No Sexual Attraction To Others. Asexual People May Experience Romantic Attraction And Have Relationships; Asexuality Is Distinct From Celibacy And Does Not Determine Whether Someone Practices Monogamy Or Polyamory.

A Relationship That Is Not Open To Additional Romantic Or Sexual Partners Or Connections.

A Partner Who May Have A Meaningful Connection With Someone But Interacts Relatively Infrequently, Often Because Of Distance, Schedules Or Lifestyle.

Joy At A Partner’s Happiness With Someone Else. It Can Coexist With Jealousy And Is Not A Requirement For Practicing Polyamory. Frubble Is A Playful Synonym.

The Umbrella Term For Any Relationship Style Where Everyone Knows About And Agrees To Non-monogamy. Swinging, Open Relationships And Polyamory All Fall Under It. CNM Is The Term Most Used In Research.

The Advantages, Often Unexamined, That An Established Couple Has Over Newer Partners (Such As Setting The Rules, Holiday Priority Or Shared Housing).

Often-critical Slang For Someone Who Enters A Nonmonogamous Relationship Intending To Draw Their Partner Into Exclusivity With Them, Rather Than Respecting The Existing Arrangement.

A Hierarchy That Describes Existing Differences In Relationships, Such As Shared Housing Or Parenting, Without Necessarily Being Imposed As A Set Of Restrictions On Other Relationships.

An Arrangement In Which Partners Agree Not To Disclose Or Discuss Certain Outside Relationships Or Activities.

Any Relationship Between Two People, Monogamous Or Within A Larger Network.

Established Or Old Relationship Energy: A Community Term For The Familiarity And Connection Of An Ongoing Relationship, Contrasted With NRE. Long Duration Does Not Automatically Mean Security.

An Informal, Ambiguous Term For An Agreement Or Practice Involving Sex Without Some Barriers. It Does Not Establish Testing, Exclusivity Or Safety; Clarify Exactly What People Mean.

A Friendship That Includes Mutually Consensual Sexual Or Intimate Activity Without Necessarily Being A Romantic Partnership.

A Middle-ground Style In Which Metamours May Be Friendly And Attend Occasional Gatherings Together Without Necessarily Having A Close Relationship.

Polyamory In Which Some Relationships Are Explicitly Given Greater Priority, Authority, Commitment, Or Practical Entanglement Than Others.

The Person Who Connects Two Or More Partners Who Are Not Themselves Romantically Involved With Each Other, Such As The Centre Of A V Relationship.

A Style Of Polyamory In Which Partners And Metamours Are Comfortable Interacting Socially, Potentially Spending Time Together Around The Same Metaphorical Kitchen Table.

A Partner With Whom Someone Intends To Maintain A Long-term Or Lifelong Relationship; The Relationship May Be Romantic, Sexual Or Otherwise Intimate.

Intense Preoccupation With Another Person, Often Involving Longing For Reciprocation And Anxiety About Their Feelings. It Can Overlap With, But Is Not The Same As, New Relationship Energy.

A Relationship In Which Partners Live Far Enough Apart That Regular In-person Interaction Is Limited.

Your Partner's Partner, With Whom You Are Not Directly Romantically Or Sexually Involved.

An Agreed Relationship In Which One Person Has Or Wants Only One Partner While The Other Has Or Wants Multiple Partners.

A Mostly Monogamous Relationship That Allows Limited, Specifically Negotiated Exceptions To Sexual Or Romantic Exclusivity.

A Romantic Or Intimate Partner With Whom Someone Shares A Home Or Substantial Domestic Life.

The Rush Of Excitement And Attraction Early In A New Relationship. Managing NRE So Existing Partners Don't Feel Neglected Is A Common Poly Skill.

Polyamory That Attempts To Avoid Formally Ranking Partners As More Or Less Important, While Recognising That Different Relationships May Naturally Have Different Levels Of Involvement.

A Restriction Allowing Only One Partner With A Penis, Often Framed As Allowing Women But Not Other Men. Widely Criticized As Unequal And Potentially Sexist Or Transphobic.

A Marriage In Which The Spouses Have Mutually Agreed To Permit Some Form Of Consensual Non-monogamy.

Polyamory In Which People Are Generally Permitted To Form Additional Consensual Relationships.

A Relationship In Which Partners Have Mutually Agreed That Some Forms Of Romantic Or Sexual Connection Outside The Relationship Are Permitted.

A Style In Which Partnerships Remain Relatively Separate, With Little Direct Interaction Between Metamours.

An Older Or Less Commonly Used Term For A Romantic Or Sexual Partner.

A Committed, Non-romantic And Often Non-sexual Life Partner, Such As A Best Friend You Live And Plan Your Life With.

The Practice Or Capacity Of Having Multiple Loving, Consensual Romantic Relationships With The Knowledge And Consent Of Everyone Involved.

A Network Of Interconnected Romantic And/or Sexual Relationships Within A Polyamorous Community Or Configuration.

An Agreement Limiting Romantic And/or Sexual Connections To A Defined Group. Not Every Member Has To Date Every Other Member; The Group Decides What Exclusivity Includes.

Having As Many Relationships As You Have Time And Energy For, So Not Seeking More.

A Hierarchy In Which One Relationship Has Explicitly Negotiated Authority Or Priority Over Other Relationships.

A Partner Who Occupies A Central Or Highly Prioritised Position In A Hierarchical Relationship Structure, Often Involving Significant Life Entanglements.

A Polyamorous Relationship Structure Involving Four People Who Are Connected In One Or More Romantic Or Intimate Configurations.

A Relationship Philosophy That Rejects Automatically Ranking Relationships According To Conventional Categories And Instead Emphasises Autonomy, Consent, Negotiation And Allowing Each Relationship To Develop According To The People Involved.

The Conventional Sequence Of Relationship Milestones (Dating, Exclusivity, Moving In, Marriage). Many Poly People Choose To Step Off It.

A Partner Whose Relationship Has Less Structural Priority Or Practical Entanglement Than A Primary Relationship Within A Hierarchical Structure.

A Style Of Polyamory In Which A Person Prioritises Their Autonomy And Generally Does Not Organise Their Life Around A Conventional Primary-partner Relationship Structure.

A Metamour’s Partner Other Than The Partner You Share. A Less Common Label For A Connection Farther Out In A Polycule.

A Term Sometimes Used For A Relationship With Relatively Limited Practical Or Emotional Entanglement Compared With Primary Or Secondary Relationships.

A Relationship Involving Three People In Which Each Person Is Romantically Partnered With Both Others.

A Couple Seeking A Single (Usually Bisexual) Woman To Date Both Of Them, Typically On Terms The Couple Sets. Often Used Critically In Poly Communities.

Three People Where One Person (The Hinge) Dates Two People Who Are Not Dating Each Other.

A Power That Lets One Partner End Or Block Another Partner's Relationship. Controversial; Many Poly People Reject Veto Arrangements.

A Brief Moment Of Insecurity Or Jealousy, Usually Minor And Passing.