I like to flirt, teasing especially the female gender, and not because I feel some attraction toward them or want a relationship with them but because it keeps a conversation going. I started getting used to flirtatious conversation when I was much younger and somehow it became a part of me through adulthood. Most people would assume cheating because somehow those flirtatious talks could involve words meant to be discussed between people who are in a courtship. Is Flirting cheating? For me , it depends on one's intentions, the reason behind the flirtatious talks even though flirting itself isn't cheating.
Flirting according to English dictionary is;
to talk with teasing affection, to insinuate sexual attraction in a playful (especially conversational) way. [from 18th c.]
While cheating is;
Unfaithful or adulterous.
In everything we do, intentions or motives behind them matters. Flirting on its own is playful, sometimes to appreciate one's beauty or sexuality but doesn't mean unfaithfulness. There are people who naturally are good with words, they mostly flirt around with a lot of people they come across without any negative motive but because it's their kind of conversation. Cheating means unfaithfulness, flirting means talking with teasing affection. It's possible to flirt with anybody whether one is attracted to the person or not, like I said earlier, most flirtatious talks for me helps a conversation last longer, sometimes I may do it for just that purpose.
The problem with flirting is its ability to stir up affection, but most times motive is what matters. We flirt in different ways, sometimes unconsciously using every part of our body but cheating is in doing rather than talking. Even though a lot of people dislike to see their partner being flirtatious, it doesn't mean otherwise, they only desire that every praises and words that insinuate sexual attraction be Said to them instead of someone different. If flirting was cheating, a lot of people would be guilty, but what matters most to whether it's a cheat or not is the motive behind it.