Romantic Relationships: English Vocabulary List

to act as though one is not interested in another person's romantic or sexual advances in order to increase their interest or desire

"She is playing hard to get."

"She told her friend to play hard to get so that he would want her even more than before."

to make it clear that one is interested in having a romantic or sexual relationship with someone

"He was too shy to make the first move."

"She was too shy to make the first move so he had to approach her and say hello."

a flirtatious comment used to initiate a conversation with someone, often with the intention of expressing romantic or sexual interest in them

"His pick-up line was cheesy."

"His pick up line was very cheesy and she laughed instead of being impressed by it."

to make it too obvious that one is interested in having a relationship with someone, often one that is sexual and not romantic

"She threw herself at him."

"She threw herself at every rich man at the party hoping to find a wealthy husband quickly."

to try to begin a sexual or romantic relationship with a particular person

"He was too shy to make a move on her."

"He was too nervous to make a move on her at the party so he just stood in the corner watching her."

to earn someone's affection, love, or admiration through one's actions, words, or gestures

"He stole her heart quickly."

"The young musician managed to capture the audience's heart with his beautiful performance at the concert last night."

to make someone have intense romantic feelings for one

"He swept her off her feet."

"The charming prince swept her off his feet with his kind words and beautiful smile."

to cause a person to become greatly interested in one, particularly in the first encounter

"She charmed the pants off him."

"The charismatic speaker charmed the pants off the audience with his engaging stories and witty remarks."

to desire someone to be one's sexual partner

"The gold digger had designs on the old man."

"The young man clearly has designs on the boss's daughter because he is always trying to impress her father."

to feel intense feelings of sexual attraction for someone

"She has the hots."

"Everyone in the office could tell he had the hots for the new intern."

to act as though one is not interested in another person's romantic or sexual advances in order to increase their interest or desire

"She plays hard to get."

"To pique his interest, she decided to play hard to get, making him pursue her more intensely."