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love-hate relationship

American  
[luhv-heyt ri-ley-shuhn-ship] / ˈlʌvˈheɪt rɪˈleɪ ʃənˌʃɪp /

noun

  1. a state of ambivalence in which one feels both love and hate for someone or something.

    Transylvania has something of a love-hate relationship with Dracula tourism.

    The love-hate relationship between directors and actors is entertainingly dissected in this kiss-and-tell memoir from the directing frontlines.

Etymology

Origin of love-hate relationship

First recorded in 1920–25

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.