Relationship
What does Compersion mean?
Joy in the other's romantic pleasure, the cultivated opposite of jealousy.
Definition
Compersion is a workshop word. It names the taste — sometimes small, sometimes rehearsed — of seeing a partner happy in another bond. It is not an obligation. Treating the word as a virtue test is a way to silence real jealousy. Still the term is useful: it gives an affective target that monogamous vocabulary only knows as a lack of self-respect.
Origin
English from Kerista/polyamory communities, 1970s–1990s.
History
ENM glossaries spread the word; TikTok sometimes sells it as a superpower.
How it emerged
Jealousy already had a name. The opposite taste did not.
Usage examples
I felt real compersion only after a lot of talk.
Compersion is not an exam you pass.
Translations
- pt compersion
- en compersion
- es compersión / compersion
Synonyms
- vicarious joy
- pleasure in the other bond
- cultivated anti-jealousy
Related terms
Questions
What is compersion?
Taking joy in someone else's romantic pleasure, usually in another bond.
Opposite of jealousy?
The name the community gave to the contrary taste. Both can coexist.
Mandatory in polyamory?
No. Demanding compersion as a moral proof is usually soft violence.