romance

1 of 4

noun (1)

ro·​mance rō-ˈman(t)s 

rə-;

ˈrō-ˌman(t)s

1

a(1)

: a medieval tale based on legend, chivalric love and adventure, or the supernatural

(2)

: a prose narrative treating imaginary characters involved in events remote in time or place and usually heroic, adventurous, or mysterious

(3)

: a love story especially in the form of a novel

b

: a class of such literature

2

: something (such as an extravagant story or account) that lacks basis in fact

3

: an emotional attraction or aura belonging to an especially heroic era, adventure, or activity

4

: love affair

5

capitalized : the Romance languages

romance

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verb

romanced; romancing

intransitive verb

1

: to exaggerate or invent detail or incident

2

: to entertain romantic thoughts or ideas

transitive verb

1

: to try to influence or curry favor with especially by lavishing personal attention, gifts, or flattery

2

: to carry on a love affair with

romance

3 of 4

noun (2)

: a short instrumental piece in ballad style

Romance

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adjective

Ro·​mance rō-ˈman(t)s 

rə-;

ˈrō-ˌman(t)s

: of, relating to, or being any of the languages developed from Latin (such as Italian, French, and Spanish)

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• affair
• affaire
• amour
• fling
• love
• love affair

Examples of romance in a Sentence

Noun (1)

an office romance that ended with hurt feelings on both sides

Verb

He was always romancing younger women.

She was romanced by several wealthy young men.

The museum's director spends a lot of time romancing potential donors.

a college athlete who's being romanced by several pro teams

They were romancing about the past.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Abrams and Mescal have remained pretty private about their relationship, keeping their romance out of the spotlight — a decision the Normal People star recently explained in his cover story for GQ's November 2024 issue. —Bailey Richards, People.com, 15 Dec. 2024

One especially potent line applies not just to Swift and Healy’s romance but to a generation of young people trapped in an overly nostalgic and referential culture and maybe a little deprived of real-life experience. —Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024

Verb

Werther chronicles his attempts at romancing Charlotte via phone calls to his friend, only to learn that Charlotte is engaged to an emotionally unavailable man named Albert (Adams, 43). —Tommy McArdle, People.com, 1 Nov. 2024

Angelina Jolie is not romancing the British rapper Akala, a source tells PEOPLE. —Tommy McArdle, People.com, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English romauns, from Anglo-French romanz French, narrative in French, from Medieval Latin Romanice in a vernacular (as opposed to Latin), from Late Latin Romanus Gallo-Romance speaker (as opposed to a Frank), from Latin, Roman

Noun (2)

German Romanze & French romance, both ultimately from Spanish romance romance, ballad, from Old Occitan & Old French romanz

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

1653, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1854, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing romance

• workplace romance

Kids Definition

romance

1 of 3 noun

ro·​mance rō-ˈman(t)s 

ˈrō-ˌman(t)s

1

a

: an old tale of knights and noble ladies

b

: an adventure story

c

: a love story

2

: love affair

3

: an attraction or appeal to one's feelings

the romance of the old West

romance

2 of 3 verb

romanced; romancing

1

: to have romantic thoughts or ideas

2

: to carry on a love affair with

Romance

3 of 3 adjective

Ro·​mance rō-ˈman(t)s 

ˈrō-ˌman(t)s

: of, relating to, or being the languages (as French, Italian, or Spanish) developed from Latin

Etymology

Noun

Middle English romauns "a story of adventure or legend," from early French romanz "French language, something written in French," from Latin romanice "in a vernacular (as opposed to Latin)," from Latin Romanus "Gallic Romance speaker (as opposed to a Frank)," from Romanus "Roman"

Word Origin

As the Roman Empire spread throughout Europe, the Latin language developed many dialects. In these dialects, the original Latin was changed by the native languages spoken before the conquest. These dialects were called romanz in early French and became the bases of what we call Romance languages today. Even after the fall of Rome, serious writing was done in Latin. But in what is now France, popular verse stories about knights, dragons, ghosts, and battles were written in the local dialect. Soon romanz came to mean one of these stories, and the word was borrowed into Middle English. Since many of the stories were about love affairs, romance came to mean "a love story," and then "a love affair." In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a group of poets, including Shelley, Byron, Keats, and Wordsworth, were labeled Romantic because they wrote poetry about the same kinds of things as were found in the old romances—noble love, courage, and ghostly beings.