Significant other - Definition and Overview

Significant other (or SO) is a gender-blind, politically correct term to refer to a person's partner in a intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming anything about his or her marital status or sexual orientation. It is also vague enough to avoid offence from using a term that an individual might consider inappropriate (e.g. lover when she considers him a boyfriend, or girlfriend when he considers her a life partner).

The first known occurrence of the term was in 1953 by U.S. psychiatrist, Harry Stack Sullivan, a former editor of the journal Psychiatry, in his work, The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry.

Its usage in both psychology and sociology is different from its colloquial use. In psychology, a significant other is any person who has great importance to an individual’s life or well-being. In sociology, it describes a person with a strong influence on an individual's self-evaluation as well as reception of particular social norms. This usage is synonymous with the term "relevant other."

See also

• boyfriend
• girlfriend
• intimate relationship
• fiancé
• husband
• wife
• domestic partner
• marriage
• spouse
• father
• mother
• sibling
• partner