Is “falling in love” (being “in love,” etc.) the same as infatuation?

John M: Is “falling in love” (being “in love,” etc.) the same as infatuation?
I’m confused on this subject.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Mary
Love-a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.
infatuation-foolish or all-absorbing passion or an instance of this

these are the dictionary definitions

and these are my definitions

Infatuation-i love you because i need you
love-i need you because i love you

Answer by Bahadir
Are you asking from a linguistic point of view or from a psychological point of view?

From the linguistic angle, they are not the same. The definition of infatuation is as follows: “foolish or all-absorbing passion or an instance of this: a mere infatuation that will not last” Being or falling in love, on the other hand, generally encompasses significantly more. In other words, someone in love is most probably also infatuated, but the reverse is not necessarily true.

From a psychological angle, the same can be said based on scientific data. A lot of studies show that being in love carries not only similar behavior as addiction (such as substance addiction), but also mimics similar biochemical reactions in the body.

Answer by alan h
Not at all.
But in the early stages it may be difficult to differentiate

Answer by Emily Perez
I took one look at my boyfriend and thought he was the hottest guy I had ever seen. The words that ran into my head were “holy shit, who is that guy? i have to have him, i will have him”.Right after as I was opening the door our eyes met and I felt something really intense.

He sat down next to me, we moved in together 2 weeks later and have been together ever since.(Close to 2 years now)

He has since gained some weight, and I found out he struggles with bipolar and add. Making him at times a very VERY volatile person. I’m telling you these details because yes I noticed him because I had an instant infatuation, but I stayed with him because I fell in love. We have a really intense passionate love, and it went both ways. He told me he talked to me because he thought I was hot what he didn’t know was that I ended up being the person he hoped he’d find one day!

If it helps, I am 22 and he is 21 and we met in a history class at college.

Sometimes from infatuation can come love 😉