Ghosting

/GOH-sting/

noun · verb

Ghosting is ending an ongoing connection by stopping communication without warning or explanation.

#dating language
#friendship
#workplace communication
#internet slang

Meaning

Ghosting means ending or abandoning an ongoing connection by cutting off communication without warning or explanation. It is especially associated with dating, but the word is also used for friendships and work relationships. A delayed reply or one unanswered message alone does not establish ghosting; the term describes an apparent cutoff, not a proven motive.[1][2][3][5]

1. As a noun, ghosting is the unexplained cutoff itself: They called the sudden silence ghosting.
2. As a verb, to ghost someone is to stop responding and end the connection without explaining; ghosted and ghosting are its regular inflections.

A hand-drawn ghost holds a bag labeled “YOUR WASTED TIME” and says, “Trick or Treat. Thanks.” — The ghost imagery turns disappearing after a date into a joke: the person left behind feels their time was wasted. It illustrates the dating context often associated with ghosting. Source

Examples

“That sudden silence after three dates felt like ghosting.”

“Ghosting by the recruiter left me unsure where I stood.”

“After weeks without a reply, I wondered if she was ghosting me.”

Origin and spread

The relationship sense is a metaphorical extension of ghost: someone who ghosts figuratively disappears from another person's life. Lexicographer Jane Solomon's Dictionary.com account reports a November 23, 2007 Urban Dictionary entry using the verb for cutting ties in a dating context, but that original entry was not recovered here. Dictionary.com also mentions possible connections to get ghost and older expressions for slipping away, while explicitly leaving the exact origin unresolved. Dating coverage in 2014 and 2015 documents the term in mainstream media; it does not establish a creator or prove that dating apps caused it to spread.[1]

How to use it

Ghosting usually describes an apparent cutoff or abandonment, not simply replying late, and often carries criticism because no explanation is given. A single unanswered message is not enough to establish it. Someone may jokingly say they were ghosting a friend to describe going quiet, but that loose self-description is weaker than the usual sense of ending a connection. The word does not establish the person's motive and is not inherently sexual.

Silence leaves room for disagreement

HuffPost's dating report presents competing views: some interviewees argue that silence can signal disinterest after a few dates, while another argues that even a brief, explicit ending is more respectful. The word names the unexplained cutoff, not a shared rule about what explanation is owed.[2]

Ghosting, breadcrumbing, and orbiting

Psychology Today distinguishes ghosting's cutoff from breadcrumbing, which offers intermittent attention without meaningful commitment, and orbiting, which keeps someone visible online without substantial direct contact. Someone can orbit after ghosting, so a like is not necessarily a return to communication.[4]

Questions people ask

Does ghosting mean someone is being cruel or avoiding a conversation?

The word describes an unexplained cutoff, not the person's motive. It can carry criticism because the other person is left without an explanation, but calling something ghosting does not establish why the person stopped replying.[1][5]

Can you ghost someone at work or as a friend?

Yes. The word is used for unexplained cutoffs in friendships and in work relationships, including employers who stop responding to candidates and candidates who stop responding to employers.[3][4]

Sources

1. Dictionary.com — What Is Ghosting?Supports: origin, meaning.
2. HuffPost — 'Ghosting:' The 21st-Century Dating Problem Everyone Talks AboutSupports: meaning.
3. Urban Dictionary — Ghosting, SunnyDoll entrySupports: meaning.
4. Psychology Today — The Terms of Noncommitment: Ghosting, Breadcrumbing, More
5. The Independent — Ghosting: what to do if you've been a victimSupports: meaning.