NSFW & kink glossary
Plain-language definitions for terms you'll see across NSFW Confessions. If a confession uses a term that isn't here, let us know and we'll add it.
- Vanilla
- Conventional, non-kinky sex or relationship style, used as a contrast to kink, not a judgment.
- Kink / fetish
- A kink is a sexual interest outside the conventional; a fetish is a more specific version, usually attached to a particular object, body part, or scenario. See Kinks & Fetishes.
- BDSM
- Bondage/Discipline, Dominance/submission, Sadism/Masochism: the umbrella term for power-exchange and sensation-based kink. See our full guide.
- D/s
- Dominant/submissive: the general power-exchange structure BDSM dynamics are often built around.
- Safeword
- A pre-agreed word or signal used to pause or stop a scene immediately, distinct from any in-scene "no." See our BDSM 101 guide.
- Aftercare
- The care given after a scene ends: checking in, comfort, a gentle transition back to normal, to prevent "drop" and reinforce trust.
- Consensual non-consent (CNC)
- A pre-negotiated fantasy scene simulating non-consent between partners who agreed to it beforehand, distinct from, and the opposite of, actual non-consent.
- ENM / non-monogamy
- Ethical non-monogamy: an umbrella term for open relationships, swinging, and polyamory. See our full guide.
- Hotwifing / cuckolding
- A dynamic where one partner (usually with the other's knowledge and often enthusiastic involvement) has sex with other people, with an emphasis on the other partner's arousal at the idea or account of it.
- Exhibitionist / voyeur
- An exhibitionist is aroused by being seen; a voyeur is aroused by watching. See Exhibitionism & Voyeurism.
- Body count
- Slang for the number of sexual partners someone has had, a frequent subject of Confessions & Secrets posts, often about lying about it.
- Praise kink
- Getting gratification from being told you did well or pleased someone.
- Degradation
- The inverse of praise kink: deriving arousal from being talked down to or humiliated, always within agreed limits.
- Breathplay
- Restricting breathing as part of a scene, one of the higher-risk kinks; always negotiated carefully with a clear stop signal, never solo.
- Drop
- The emotional or physical low that can follow an intense scene if aftercare is skipped. Can affect either partner in a D/s dynamic.