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
5
capitalized
: the Romance languages
romanced; romancing
1
: to exaggerate or invent detail or incident
2
: to entertain romantic thoughts or ideas
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
: a short instrumental piece in ballad style
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
Examples of romance in a Sentence
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
Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Ellis said Todd was infatuated with Vernon, even buying a new dress for an upcoming performance in the hopes of sparking a romance.
—Kelly Heinzerling, ABC News, 3 May 2024
Olivia Cooke and Jamie Bell have signed on to star in Takes One To Know One, a contemporary romance from Italian director Nathalie Biancheri (Nocturnal) based on Brooke Baker’s 2022 Black List script.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 May 2024
Lee's smash hit book introduces the unconventional but intense age-gap romance between 40-year-old divorced single mom Solène and 24-year-old British boy band member Hayes Campbell.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 3 May 2024
The romance has been met with some backlash from homophobic viewers, whose hateful comments Stark responded to on Instagram last month.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
On a shoot with Tom, Colt embarks on a romance with a camera operator, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt).
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024
But both may be remembered most for their unlikely Olympic romance.
—Frank Litsky, New York Times, 1 May 2024
The Schneider-Shultz romance is sweet and sad; neither character is called upon to shriek.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Local viewers enjoyed the spectacle, laughing at Lagerfeld’s awkwardness or at Yves Saint Laurent’s (Arnaud Valois) clumsy attempts at romancing de Bascher.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Apr. 2024
As a result, Godzilla acts more like King Kong, climbing buildings and romancing human women.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2024
In Mathura, a northern city where Krishna is said to have been born, people recreate a Hindu myth in which Krishna visits Radha to romance her, and her cowherd friends, taking offense at his advances, drive him out with sticks.
—Hari Kumar, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
From A-list actors to big-time ballplayers, the globally renowned actress, singer and entertainer has famously romanced some of the world’s finest celebrity bachelors throughout her career.
—Lydia Price, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024
Loughery played a cautious shop owner named Annie who is romanced by a tough U.S. Marine drill sergeant (Webb) stationed on Parris Island in South Carolina in the Warner Bros. drama The D.I. Webb also directed and produced the movie.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Feb. 2024
Both Blackwell and Presnell were romancing other people in the pods— Presnell had a connection with Jessica Vestal and Blackwell with Trevor Sova—and both were struggling with their decision.
—Glamour, 23 Feb. 2024
Shiro is the less savory of the two, fond of romancing rich, bored women.
—Alida Becker, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024
Noun
The two don’t kiss or even embrace each other, but the show insinuates romance may be in store for them.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Ellis said Todd was infatuated with Vernon, even buying a new dress for an upcoming performance in the hopes of sparking a romance.
—Kelly Heinzerling, ABC News, 3 May 2024
Olivia Cooke and Jamie Bell have signed on to star in Takes One To Know One, a contemporary romance from Italian director Nathalie Biancheri (Nocturnal) based on Brooke Baker’s 2022 Black List script.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 May 2024
Lee's smash hit book introduces the unconventional but intense age-gap romance between 40-year-old divorced single mom Solène and 24-year-old British boy band member Hayes Campbell.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 3 May 2024
The romance has been met with some backlash from homophobic viewers, whose hateful comments Stark responded to on Instagram last month.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
On a shoot with Tom, Colt embarks on a romance with a camera operator, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt).
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024
But both may be remembered most for their unlikely Olympic romance.
—Frank Litsky, New York Times, 1 May 2024
The Schneider-Shultz romance is sweet and sad; neither character is called upon to shriek.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
Verb
There, the Captain finds his place among the refugee community, romances an older woman (Sandra Oh) who preaches free love, and waits for sporadic communiqués from Hanoi.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Local viewers enjoyed the spectacle, laughing at Lagerfeld’s awkwardness or at Yves Saint Laurent’s (Arnaud Valois) clumsy attempts at romancing de Bascher.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Apr. 2024
As a result, Godzilla acts more like King Kong, climbing buildings and romancing human women.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2024
In Mathura, a northern city where Krishna is said to have been born, people recreate a Hindu myth in which Krishna visits Radha to romance her, and her cowherd friends, taking offense at his advances, drive him out with sticks.
—Hari Kumar, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
From A-list actors to big-time ballplayers, the globally renowned actress, singer and entertainer has famously romanced some of the world’s finest celebrity bachelors throughout her career.
—Lydia Price, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024
Loughery played a cautious shop owner named Annie who is romanced by a tough U.S. Marine drill sergeant (Webb) stationed on Parris Island in South Carolina in the Warner Bros. drama The D.I. Webb also directed and produced the movie.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Feb. 2024
Both Blackwell and Presnell were romancing other people in the pods— Presnell had a connection with Jessica Vestal and Blackwell with Trevor Sova—and both were struggling with their decision.
—Glamour, 23 Feb. 2024
Shiro is the less savory of the two, fond of romancing rich, bored women.
—Alida Becker, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'romance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near romance
Cite this Entry
“Romance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/romance. Accessed 7 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share