enemies to lovers
/ˈɛnəmiz tuː ˈlʌvərz/
Very CommonA romance trope where two people who hate or oppose each other fall in love.
The trope works because the conflict and tension between them makes the eventual romance feel earned. Readers and viewers are often rooting for it long before the characters are.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | enemies to lovers is literally my favorite trope, I cannot be normal about it. | The speaker has a strong emotional reaction to this type of romance. | tumblr, 2023 |
| 02 | the bickering, the tension, the one of them saving the other's life. yeah this is enemies to lovers. | The speaker is identifying the classic beats of the trope playing out. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | my situationship is literally enemies to lovers and I hate it so much | The speaker is describing their own romantic life using fandom terminology. | |
| 04 | they hated each other for two seasons and now they're kissing. enemies to lovers won. | The trope paid off after a long buildup. | x, 2023 |
Use it when
- Two characters start as antagonists and develop romantic feelings.
- Naming a specific story structure or romance trope you love.
- Reacting to two people with obvious tension and underlying attraction.
- Describing a real situation where you disliked someone before developing feelings.
Do not use it when
- The characters are just strangers who bicker occasionally.
- There is no genuine romantic payoff or emotional arc.
Enemies to lovers vs slow burn
enemies to lovers
Enemies to lovers is about the starting dynamic: opposition or conflict.
VS
slow-burn
Slow burn is about the pacing: the romantic payoff takes a long time.
Origin and context
A longstanding romance archetype that gained its specific name and community vocabulary through online fanfiction culture, especially on LiveJournal and Archive of Our Own.
- First seen
- early-2000s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/enemies-to-loversUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0