Editing Infatuation (section)

{{short description|Intense but shallow attraction}}
{{other uses}}
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{{multiple issues|
{{essay|date=September 2018}}
{{Over-quotation|date=February 2022}}
{{rewritten|date=October 2024}}
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[[File:Uluchi Arujann.jpg|thumb|right|230px|An illustrated depiction of ''[[Mahābhārata]]'' character [[Ulupi]] becoming infatuated with [[Arjuna]]]]
'''Infatuation''', also known as '''being smitten''', is the personal state of being overly driven by an uninformed or otherwise unreasonable passion, usually towards another person for whom one has developed strong [[Romantic love|romantic]] or sexual feelings.

Psychologist [[Frank D. Cox]] said that infatuation could be distinguished from [[romance (love)|romantic love]] only when looking back on a particular case of being attracted to a person but which may also evolve into a mature love.<ref>Frank D. Cox, ''Human Intimacy'' (2008) p.&nbsp;72.</ref> Goldstein and Brandon describe infatuation as the first stage of a relationship before developing into a mature intimacy.<ref>A. Goldstein and M. Brandon, ''Reclaiming Desire'' (2009) p.&nbsp;232.</ref> Whereas love is "a warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion to another person", infatuation is "a feeling of foolish or obsessively strong love for, admiration for, or interest in someone or something", a shallower "honeymoon phase" in a relationship.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url= https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a27914966/difference-between-love-and-infatuation/ |title=What's the Difference Between Love and Infatuation? |last=Adebowale |first=Temi |date=28 June 2019 |website=www.menshealth.com |publisher=Men's Health |access-date=27 October 2019 }}</ref> [[Ian Kerner]], a [[sex therapy|sex therapist]], stated that infatuation usually occurred at the beginning of relationships, which is "[...] marked by a sense of excitement and euphoria, and it's often accompanied by [[lust]] and a feeling of newness and rapid expansion with a person".<ref name="auto"/> 

The psychologist [[Adam Phillips (psychologist)|Adam Phillips]] has described how illusions that occurred during infatuation inevitably resulted in disappointment when learning the truth about a lover.<ref>[[Adam Phillips (psychologist)|Adam Phillips]], ''On Flirtation'' (London 1994) p.&nbsp;40.</ref> Adolescents often make people an object of extravagant, short-lived passion or temporary love.<ref>{{Cite web |title = Infatuation meaning |url = http://www.spinfold.com/infatuation-meaning/ |website = Spinfold |date = 2016-02-07 |access-date = 2016-02-09 |language = en-US}}</ref>