love-hate relationship

[ luhv-heyt ri-ley-shuhn-ship ]

noun

1. a state of ambivalence in which one feels both love and hate for someone or something:

   Transylvania has something of a love-hate relationship with Dracula tourism.

   The love-hate relationship between directors and actors is entertainingly dissected in this kiss-and-tell memoir from the directing frontlines.

Word History and Origins

Origin of love-hate relationship¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

“I didn’t live out a lot of the things that Kate did in the movie,” she says of the onetime tornado chaser played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, “but I know what it’s like going home and having that heartbreak, and it’s like a bittersweet feeling of having a love-hate relationship with the place that you’re from.”

From Los Angeles Times

This explains the love-hate relationship South Korea’s film and television creators currently have with international streaming platforms.

From BBC

In “Two Things,” she finds the ragged edge of her honeyed voice to put across the exasperation involved in a love-hate relationship; in “We Broke Up,” she realizes that closure is available only to those who are ready for it: “I could take a deep dive in the details / I could hide, I could cry till I throw up / Take a stroll, camera roll, old emails / But it’s as simple as, ‘We broke up.’”

From Los Angeles Times

Historically, the city has a love-hate relationship with graffiti.

From Los Angeles Times

Aisha, who grew up poor, has a love-hate relationship with her hometown.

From Los Angeles Times