Love vs. Smitten — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 24, 2024
Love is a deep, sustained affection and commitment, while smitten refers to an intense but often short-lived infatuation.
Difference Between Love and Smitten
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Love encompasses a range of emotions, commitments, and behaviors associated with strong feelings of affection, protectiveness, warmth, and respect for another person. Smitten, on the other hand, typically describes a sudden and intense admiration or infatuation towards someone, usually in the early stages of romantic attraction.
Love often develops over time and can strengthen as it grows, incorporating elements like trust, understanding, and loyalty. Whereas smitten might not necessarily evolve into deeper emotional connections and can be fleeting, driven more by initial attraction or idealization than by a deep emotional bond.
Love is versatile and can apply to various types of relationships, including familial, platonic, and romantic bonds. Smitten usually applies specifically to romantic feelings, highlighting a person's overwhelming attraction to another at the beginning of a relationship.
Love involves a deep affection that can lead to long-term commitment and partnership. In contrast, being smitten often involves idealized projections and fantasies about the other person, which may or may not be realistic.
Love is generally stable and enduring, able to withstand challenges and changes over time. Smitten, however, is often characterized by its transient nature, potentially shifting quickly as the initial excitement wears off or as one gets to know the other person better.
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Comparison Chart
Duration
Long-term and enduring
Often short-lived
Depth
Deep emotional connection
Surface-level infatuation
Stability
Stable, grows over time
May change quickly
Application
Broad (romantic, platonic, etc.)
Primarily romantic
Basis
Affection, commitment
Initial attraction, idealization
Compare with Definitions
Love
To feel a deep romantic attachment to someone.
They’ve been in love for years and still hold hands often.
Smitten
Overwhelmed or struck by strong feelings of attraction.
She was smitten by his charming smile.
Love
A great interest and pleasure in something.
Her love of classical music comes from her grandfather.
Smitten
Captivated by a profound affection or admiration.
Smitten by the beauty of the landscape, he decided to stay.
Love
To like or enjoy something very much.
He loves hiking through the mountains during autumn.
Smitten
Affected by something overwhelming.
The entire audience was smitten by her performance.
Love
An intense feeling of deep affection.
His love for painting became his career.
Smitten
To be very much in love.
He’s completely smitten with his new girlfriend.
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love of a mother differs from the love of a spouse, which differs from the love of food.
Smitten
Suddenly very impressed or fond of someone.
They were smitten after their first date.
Love
A strong feeling of affection and concern toward another person, as that arising from kinship or close friendship.
Smitten
A past participle of smite.
Love
A feeling of devotion or adoration toward God or a god.
Smitten
Affected by an act of smiting.
Love
A feeling of kindness or concern by God or a god toward humans.
Smitten
Made irrationally enthusiastic.
Love
Often Love(Christianity) Charity.
Smitten
In love.
Love
An instance of being in love
Teenage loves can be as fleeting as they are intense.
Smitten
Inflection of smite.
Love
A person for whom one has strong feelings of affection
She met her new love at the restaurant.
Smitten
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming;
Conscience-smitten
Awe-struck
Love
Used as a term of endearment for such a person.
Smitten
Marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness;
She was crazy about him
Gaga over the rock group's new album
He was infatuated with her
Love
An intense emotional attachment to something, as to a pet or treasured object.
Love
An expression of one's affection
Send him my love.
Love
A strong predilection or enthusiasm
A love of language.
Love for the game of golf.
Love
The object of such an enthusiasm
The outdoors is her greatest love.
Love
Love(Mythology) Eros or Cupid.
Love
(Sports) A score of zero, as in tennis.
Love
To feel love for (a person)
We love our parents. I love my friends.
Love
To feel devotion to (God or a god).
Love
To feel or show kindness or concern to (a person). Used of God or a god.
Love
To have an intense emotional attachment to
Loves his house.
Love
To embrace or caress
They were loving each other on the sofa.
Love
To like or desire enthusiastically
Loves swimming.
Love
To thrive on; need
The cactus loves hot, dry air.
Love
(uncountable) A deep caring for the existence of another.
Love
(uncountable) Strong affection.
Love
A profound and caring affection towards someone.
A mother’s love is not easily shaken.
My husband’s love is the most important thing in my life.
Love
Affectionate, benevolent concern or care for other people or beings, and for their well-being.
Love
A feeling of intense attraction towards someone.
I have never been in love as much as I have with you.
Love
A deep or abiding liking for something; an enthusiasm for something.
My love of cricket knows no bounds.
Love
(countable) A person who is the object of romantic feelings; a darling, a sweetheart, a beloved.
Love
A term of friendly address, regardless of feelings.
Hello love, how can I help you?
Love
A thing, activity, etc. which is the object of one's deep liking or enthusiasm.
Love
An instance or episode of being in love; a love affair.
Love
Used as the closing, before the signature, of a letter, especially between good friends or family members, or by the young.
Love
(obsolete) A thin silk material.
Love
A climbing plant, Clematis vitalba.
Love
Zero, no score.
So that’s fifteen-love to Kournikova.
Love
Nothing; no recompense.
Love
To have a strong affection for (someone or something).
I love my spouse.
I love you!
I love that song!
Love
(transitive) To need, thrive on.
Mold loves moist, dark places.
Love
(transitive) To be strongly inclined towards something; an emphatic form of like.
I love walking barefoot on wet grass;
I'd love to join the team;
I love what you've done with your hair
Love
To care deeply about, to be dedicated to (someone or something).
Love
(transitive) To derive delight from a fact or situation.
I love the fact that the coffee shop now offers fat-free chai latte.
Love
A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; preëminent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness; as, the love of brothers and sisters.
Of all the dearest bonds we proveThou countest sons' and mothers' loveMost sacred, most Thine own.
Love
Courtship; - chiefly in the phrase to make love, i. e., to court, to woo, to solicit union in marriage.
Demetrius . . . Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena,And won her soul.
Love
Affection; kind feeling; friendship; strong liking or desire; fondness; good will; - opposed to hate; often with of and an object.
Love, and health to all.
Smit with the love of sacred song.
The love of science faintly warmed his breast.
Love
Due gratitude and reverence to God.
Keep yourselves in the love of God.
Love
The object of affection; - often employed in endearing address; as, he held his love in his arms; his greatest love was reading.
Open the temple gates unto my love.
Love
Cupid, the god of love; sometimes, Venus.
Such was his form as painters, when they showTheir utmost art, on naked Lores bestow.
Therefore do nimble-pinioned doves draw Love.
Love
A thin silk stuff.
Love
A climbing species of Clematis (Clematis Vitalba).
Love
Nothing; no points scored on one side; - used in counting score at tennis, etc.
He won the match by three sets to love.
Love
To have a feeling of love for; to regard with affection or good will; as, to love one's children and friends; to love one's country; to love one's God.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self.
Love
To take delight or pleasure in; to have a strong liking or desire for, or interest in; to be pleased with; to like; as, to love books; to love adventures.
Wit, eloquence, and poetry.Arts which I loved.
Love
To have the feeling of love; to be in love.
Love
A strong positive emotion of regard and affection;
His love for his work
Children need a lot of love
Love
Any object of warm affection or devotion;
The theater was her first love
He has a passion for cock fighting
Love
A beloved person; used as terms of endearment
Love
A score of zero in tennis or squash;
It was 40 love
Love
Have a great affection or liking for;
I love French food
She loves her boss and works hard for him
Love
Get pleasure from;
I love cooking
Love
Be enamored or in love with;
She loves her husband deeply
Common Curiosities
What does it mean to be smitten?
Being smitten refers to feeling a sudden, intense, and often short-lived infatuation with someone.
How do you know if you are in love or just smitten?
If the feelings are deep, stable, and sustained over a longer period, it's likely love; if it's intense but fleeting, it might just be smitten.
Can smitten turn into love?
Yes, feelings of being smitten can evolve into deeper love as the relationship grows and deepens.
What is love?
Love is a deep, enduring affection and commitment towards someone or something.
Does love require time to develop?
Yes, love usually requires time to grow as individuals build mutual understanding and deeper bonds.
What causes a person to be smitten?
A combination of physical attraction, admiration, and often an idealized perception of the other person.
Is smitten always romantic?
Typically, smitten refers to romantic feelings, though one can be smitten by things like places or hobbies in a metaphorical sense.
How does love affect a relationship?
Love generally strengthens and deepens a relationship, providing a foundation for long-term commitment and mutual support.
Is being smitten a good foundation for a relationship?
Being smitten can be a starting point, but relationships typically need deeper connections to last.
What makes love different from other feelings?
Love is unique due to its depth, stability, and the emotional and practical commitments involved.
What are the signs of being smitten?
Signs include a sudden intense attraction, frequent thoughts about the person, and idealizing them.
How do smitten feelings affect behavior?
Smitten feelings can lead to idealizing someone, overlooking flaws, and a heightened desire to spend time with them.
How long can someone be smitten?
The duration varies; smitten feelings can last for a short period or until deeper knowledge of the person causes the feelings to adjust.
Is it possible to be in love and smitten at the same time?
Yes, one can experience the deep commitment of love while also feeling the exhilarating rush of being smitten, especially in new relationships.
Can love be non-romantic?
Absolutely, love can be familial, platonic, or even extend to things like hobbies or places.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
