What is the best way to describe a relationship, or the two people in a relationship, who are heterosexual, non-married on purpose, but exclusive and committed, and over the age of 50, where “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” do not sound appropriate.
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6Possible duplicate of Is there a more concise term for a long-term girlfriend/boyfriend than "significant other"? (There are a number of answers there, and also a number of other related questions link to that one, e.g. Hesitation to use “girlfriend” in reference to old people) – herisson Aug 07 '18 at 04:00
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1You're not going to find anything that, in a single word, implies all of that. Least of all heterosexual or over fifty. (Or even exclusive.) – Jason Bassford Aug 07 '18 at 04:30
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1@sumelic I don't think that possible duplicate is an actual duplicate. That question looks for things where 'boyfriend/gorlfriend' is a legitimate answer. This question looks for terms that could be used by older people where 'boyfriend/girlfriend' is inappropriate-sounding (I think heterosexual is irrelevant). – Mitch Aug 07 '18 at 13:19
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@Mitch: How about What is a synonym for “girlfriend”? then? As I said, a lot of other posts link to that one; maybe one of the others is closer. But I think the answers to the different questions are all pretty similar – herisson Aug 07 '18 at 13:25
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@sumelic Yes, that link is much better and there are suggestions that work for the older set. Boyfriend-girlfriend still works for 30 year olds, but by 50 it just sounds childish. Whether that link is a duplicate is now moot. – Mitch Aug 07 '18 at 13:38
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1Now that this question is closed, I'll answer in a comment: There's no good noun for it, 'boy/girl-friend' is the best but not great because of the weird teenager feeling. Instead use 'We're seeing each other' or 'that is the person I'm seeing'. – Mitch Aug 07 '18 at 13:42
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“De facto husband/wife” or “de facto partner” would both work, derived from the fact that the sorts of relationships are often legally classified as de facto marriages.
nick012000
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De facto husband/wife is a narrower term than what the OP has in mind; it would be understood to imply that the two people live together. – jsw29 Aug 07 '18 at 17:49