situationship

American  

[sich-oo-ey-shuhn-ship] / ˌsɪtʃ uˈeɪ ʃən ʃɪp /

noun

Informal.

1. a romantic or sexual relationship that its participants have not defined, and which can also lack commitment or exclusivity.

   After two years of a messy situationship, she was looking for someone who wanted to settle down.

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Etymology

Origin of situationship

First recorded in 2005–10; situation ( def. ) + (relation)ship ( def. )

Example Sentences

Next to all that, a rocky relationship styled into an on-and-off situationship for a reality TV subplot is the proverbial hill of beans Rick Blaine mentioned in “Casablanca.”

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026

Knowing my best friend was in a similar situationship, I found myself suggesting a curious social alternative.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

As best I could understand it, he was getting branded with the landmark because he was enmeshed in a situationship that wasn’t working out.

From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025

But really, it doesn't matter what you're doing, it's just about having a supportive group of friends who can tell you when it's time to ditch your toxic Daniel Cleaver-esque situationship.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2025

Today, Laufey reads Coco Mellors’s essay, “An Anxious Person Tries to Be Chill,” which is about a woman trying to work through her deep-seated relationship anxieties and attachment issues in an on-again, off-again situationship.

From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2024