In some ways, curving can be worse than ghosting, because at least with ghosting, it’s a one-time thing. Curving can stretch on for weeks, months, or even indefinitely. As the top-rated Urban Dictionary definition, submitted in early 2019, puts it, “It’s like ghosting but more brutal, ‘cause they wanna seem nice. Maybe they take days, or even weeks, to reply to your last WhatsApp message. But instead of leaving you hanging (like a ghost would), a curver will reply, but their responses will be sporadic, closed off, and often apologetic, e.g. ‘I’m so sorry for not texting, I’ve just been really busy with insert predictable excuse here.’ Of course, they really might have been too occupied with work, family, friends, or the washing up to take a minute out of their day to message to you……. or not.”
